Leeds Knights maintain title course at home and on the road

The Knights’ netminder produced a second successive man-of-the-match performance to steer his team to a 3-2 win over Milton Keynes Lightning at Elland Road Ice Arena.

It followed a match-winning display the previous night when the Knights inflicted a first home defeat of the season on leaders Swindon Wildcats, goals from Innes Gallacher (2), Oli Endicott and Arturs Mickevics securing a 4-1 road win.

On Sunday, it was Knights’ captain Kieran Brown who opened the scoring at 10.48 after he won a battle for position in the middle of the ice before unleashing a wrist shot from the slot that beat goalie Will Kerlin cleanly up high.

When Bow Neely attempted a slapshot from the blue line late in the second period, his stick blade snapped off giving the Lightning a breakaway the other way, but Gospel came up big to keep his side in front..

Just over two minutes before the end of the second, Balint Pakozdi doubled the Knights’ lead when he fired home from the bottom of the right circle after Fin Bradon had threaded the puck across the face of goal to him.

The visitors brought it back to within one at 45.43. A shorthanded marker from Janne Jokinen was the first special teams’ goal of the game, ending Gospel’s hopes of a first shutout of the season..

Endicott put away a forehand-backhand move at 49.25 thanks to an incredible effort by Bradon, who chased the puck down to beat the Lightning player to it before an icing was called and found his linemate with his second assist of the game.

But the visitors - beaten twice already by Leeds this season - weren’t done. A scramble out in front and a mass of sticks and skate blades in Gospel’s crease at 52.55 saw the puck go over the line, with the Lightning’s Dominik Gabaj credited with the goal.

The physicality picked up at the back end of the third period, with scrums and grabbing of jerseys at every other stoppage, while a few words were exchanged in the handshake line too.