Leeds Knights in must-win territory to stay in NIHL National title race
IF Leeds Knights are to start clawing back the deficit on NIHL National leaders Swindon Wildcats, it wouldn’t hurt if their Yorkshire rivals pitched in to help this weekend.
Of course, Sheffield Steeldogs are understandably interested in furthering their own cause when they visit Swindon today, sitting as they are between third-placed Leeds and the Wildcats in the standings.
A win for Slava Koulikov’s team would take them to within a point of the Wildcats, who then face a tough trip to Hull Seahawks on Sunday, Matty Davies’ team a threat as they look to establish some kind of form to carry into the play-offs.
Knights’ head coach Ryan Aldridge, who takes his team down to Bristol Pitbulls today in the first part of a double-header against Ales Padelek’s team, is fully aware of the task his team faces if they are to secure a fourth straight regular season league title.
With a game in hand and 22 left to play, they currently sit 12 points off Swindon but will be aware they cannot afford many more slip-ups of the kind they produced on home ice last Saturday when they surrendered a 2-0 lead to go down 5-3 against Peterborough Phantoms.
Aldridge made his displeasure clear to his players afterwards and is aware of the importance every single game now carries going forward.
Put simply, to win from their current position would surpass all previous triumphs.
“These are two must-win games for us if we want to challenge for that league title,” said Aldridge. “After Saturday night, it is making the gap bigger and bigger.
“And, under their current coach, we are coming up against a Bristol team that is more structured than before and have shown that they can beat anyone on any given night.”
Bristol welcome the Knights on the back of a weekend which brought wins against Peterborough and at home to Romford Raiders.
Since first entering NIHL national at the start of the 2022-23 season they have yet to make the play-offs, finishing bottom the last two seasons.
They currently occupy the eighth and final play-off spot but are involved in a desperate four-way battle to make the post-season with Romford, Basingstoke Bison and Solway Sharks.
Aldridge said import defenceman Sam Dunn was progressing well in his recovery from a lower-body injury that has kept him sidelined since the turn of the year and is rated as ‘day-to-day’ in terms of when he might be back in the Knights’ line-up.
Teenage forwards Daragh Spawforth and Edgars Vengis and defenceman Jonas Bennett are all available once more having missed the last two weekends while away at the Division 2B World Championships in Romania with Great Britain.