Leeds Knights edge derby showdown against Sheffield Steeldogs as NIHL National leaders Swindon Wildcats falter again

Knights’ captain Kieran Brown proved the difference in a pulsating clash at Ice Sheffield on Saturday night, his two goals sealing a spirited fightback by the visitors after they went behind to a seventh-minute strike from Oliver Knaggs.

But the night wasn’t a total loss for the Steeldogs, either, when news came through that Swindon had been beaten 5-4 at home by a Solway Sharks team making a desperate push for the play-offs.

The result in Sheffield leaves third-placed Knights 11 points shy of the leaders, with just 12 games remaining. Second-placed Steeldogs are ahead of Leeds by just two points and having played a game more.

Events in the final minute in Sheffield, though, did threaten to overshadow the game itself, before common sense prevailed on Sunday morning via the league’s Game Review Panel.

Sam Dunn’s manhandling of a Steeldogs player in front of the Knights net kick-started a chain of events which resulted in five players – three for Leeds, two for the Steeldogs – being ejected from the game for fighting.

League rules state that players ejected for fighting in the last five minutes of a game receive a mandatory one-game ban. That meant Leeds faced heading down to Romford Raiders on Sunday for their third game in as many nights without import forwards Owen Sobchak and Liam Peyton, as well as defenceman Jordan Griffin.

The Steeldogs, meanwhile, looked set to be without import forward Bair Gendunov and young British defenceman Liam Steele for their visit to bottom club Bristol Pitbulls.

An appeal was lodged to the NIHL National Game Review Panel by both teams, one that proved successful just before midday on Sunday.

Griffin, Peyton, Gendunov and Steele saw their fighting penalties downgraded to roughing calls, while Sobchak’s ‘third man in’ infringement was annulled completely.

Prior to that, the teams had served up another cracking encounter despite both missing key personnel.

The Steeldogs were without British forwards Kyle Watson and Ivan Bjorkly Nordstrom - both called up by Sheffield Steelers - as well as veteran forward Jonathan Phillips and defenceman Ben morgan. Winger Walker Sommer was the import to sit out, although the hosts were boosted by the addition of former Knights’ forward Cole Shudra, who has spent the majority of the season in the Elite League with the Steelers.

Leeds were without the services of import forward Arturs Mickevics, while Scottish winger Innes Gallacher is out for the remainder of the season.

Teenage defenceman Jonas Bennett is sidelined for another week at least, although former Steeldogs’ blue liner Sam Cooper was back in Ryan Aldridge’s line-up after missing the previous three games with an upper-body injury.

Steeldogs started the livelier of the two and deservedly went ahead when Knaggs won the puck battle in the corner before cutting in from below the goal-line before back-handed past Sam Gospel at his near post with 6.59 on the board.

Shudra took a hooking call in the 12th minute and even though his team-mates killed off the subsequent penalty, his return box was quickly greeted by cheers from the away fans after Sobchak worked space for himself down the left to set up Brown to blast past Brady Paker from six yards out and make it 1-1 at 13.49.

Penalties would interrupt the flow of the game for most of the night, but Leeds were presented with an excellent opportunity to go ahead when CJ Garcia went into the box on a delay of game call to sit alongside Bailey Yates who had gone in there just eight seconds earlier for tripping.

But Leeds couldn’t make the subsequent near-two minutes of a 5-on-3 power play count and were forced to kill off two penalties of their own before the halfway mark.

It had been fairly even in the first 40 minutes in terms of scoring opportunities but the Steeldogs enjoyed more chances in the third period, meaning it was almost against the run of play when Leeds went ahead in the 50th minute, Bow Neely finding Brown in centre ice from where he skated towards the net before producing a calm and assured finish into Parker’s top right-hand corner to make it 2-1.

Matt Bissonnette and Joonas Larinmaa both spent time in the box for a disagreement near the Knights’ net in the 55th minute, but it was nothing compared to what followed four minutes later.

Punches were thrown on both sides but none of the various grapples going on around Gospel’s net actually amounted to much, until the match officials – thankfully briefly – had their say.