Leeds Knights hit and miss but they remain everybody else's No 1 target
IT may not have been a weekend much to Ryan Aldridge’s liking but Leeds Knights were able to emerge from a testing two days in winning style.
Saturday night’s 6-2 defeat at early-season title rivals Milton Keynes Lightning will have sent shivers down the spines of some Knights’ fans - partiocularly when it allowed Tim Wallace’s team to move top of the regular season standings by one point.
But the second-placed Knights were able to keep it to that distance after Sunday’s round of games after hitting back with a 3-1 win at home to Peterborough Phantoms.
That was more than welcome given the 6-4 defeat at the home of the same opponents a week earlier, as well as ensuring that the Knights remain the only NIHL National team not to have suffered back-to-back defeats so far this season.
“I don’t think it was one of our best performances, but a win is all that matters at the end of the day,” said Aldridge in his post-match interview. “I think we’ve just got to bring more.”
There were “little things” that pleased Aldridge on Sunday evening - such as the lengthy second period 5-on-3 penalty kill which saw the Knights retain their 2-0 lead and the performance of netminder Sam Gospel.
Fin Bradon, not just for his two goals on Sunday – following on from Noah McMulin’s early opener – is an ongoing positive this season, the 19-year-old blossoming into a key player, already with 12 goals to his name and 22 points overall from 21 games.
His recent call-up to the GB Under-20 squad for the World Championshiups in Croatia in January is sure to leave a bigger hole this time around, with Aldridge aware of his increasing influence on the team.
“He’s been fantastic for us this year, scored some big goals, plays hard in all the right areas and I’m really happy for him to get called up again,” said Aldridge.
“He’s just a good, down-to-earth kid. That’s the only way you can describe him - he’s a great young man. He’s grown in terms of confidence with every game and every passing week.”
The Knights will get some extra rest over the next two weeks as they make do with a home game against Telford Tigers on Saturday (6.30pm).