Leeds Knights: No respite as treble-chasing Knights gear up for toughest time of year

The league and cup champions started their bid for an unprecedented treble by taking four points from the weekend in their two games with Telford Tigers.

Tom Watkins’ team only scraped into the post-season on the final weekend, but that counted for nothing as they pushed Leeds all the way in the opening tie in Telford on Saturday.

It required a Kieran Brown overtime winner to secure the win for the Knights, who started terribly at the start of the return match in Leeds the following night.

After going 1-0 behind to a short-handed strike from Eric Henderson, the Knights rallied to take a 3-1 lead into the second period.

The Tigers proved obdurate, however, and got themselves back into the contest with another short-handed strike from David Thomson.

But once Noah McMullin and Jordan Buesa found the net there was only one winner, the latter grabbing a second in the third period, like team-mate Mac Howlett, with Matt Barron completing his hat-trick having scored twice in the first period.

The Knights next face Hull Seahawks, desperate to make up ground after splitting their weekend with Peterborough Phantoms and Aldridge says there will be no let up for his players over the next two weeks.

“The next two weekends are going to be really tough, all three weekends will prove to be,” said Aldridge. “It’s proper playoff hockey and I think the boys underestimated the speed and the desire that Telford was going to come in with.

“They are a hard, well-coached hockey team - a team I feel are built for play-offs. We probably didn’t deserve the points (on Saturday) and again I was frustrated with our play at times (on Sunday) - but to come away with the way we ended it, was good.”

Aldridge reserved special praise for Buesa, the Scottish-born forward having taken a while to warm up in his second season with the team but already has three play-off goals to his name.

Chief pick among them was his first on Sunday, which saw him charge into the Tigers zone before releasing an unstoppable missile of a shot that goalie Brad Day barely moved for as it flew into his top left-hand corner.

“I thought Jordan was phenomenal (on Sunday),” added Alrdiege. “He scored some big goals, made some big plays and his last goal, you knew he was going to score as soon as he picked the puck up.

“But that first one was an unbelievable goal and I think the quality of that goal got the whole building and the whole team going.”