Leeds Knights: Sam Dunn injury absence offset by return of familiar face and new arrival
NO sooner had they got one man back in the line-up, than Leeds Knights were announcing they had lost another key member of their roster.
Thankfully, the absence of import defenceman Sam Dunn - himself a replacement for American summer signing Matt Staudacher who headed home injured after just a handful of games - is expected to be for just a month.
He was absent for Saturday’s 4-3 defeat in the first leg of the Knights’ NIHL National Cup semi-final clash at Swindon Wildcats, although that was offset by the return of the experienced Jordan Griffin, back in the game for the first time since the end of September when an upper-body injury ruled him out after just three appearances.
Griffin’s return to the fray follows that of fellow defenceman Lewis Baldwin, who himself has been out for two months with a lower-body injury.
His availability – in particular his experience – offers another welcome option on the back-end for Aldridge, something which he utilised in Swindon, too.
Also, in another development which came out just before midnight on Friday, the Knights won’t have to worry about playing an import short of the four currently permitted in NIHL National.
In a surprise move, the Knights acquired import forward Owen Sobchak from Yorkshire rivals Hull Seahawks.
The Seahawks have had a disappointing campaign so far, prompting head coach Matty Davies to run with five imports for the past few weeks following the return of defenceman Brock Bartholomew.
Ultimately, when it became clear Leeds were keen to take Sobchak, it made Davies’s decision on which import to jettison an easier one.
Sobchak’s signing has been greeted warmly by the majority of Knights fans, not surprising given he was the league’s top point scorer in 2024-25, posting 131 points in just 59 games in a Seahawks team which finished fourth before failing to get out of the group stage in the play-offs.
Sobchak’s production hasn’t quite reached the heights of last season, but he would seem an ideal addition to a team that is lacking firepower in its imports compared to previous years.
Given he had already played for Hull in the Cup, Sobchak wasn’t permitted to play in Swindon, but made his Knights’ debut in Sunday night’s 4-1 home win against Basingstoke Bison, where he opened his account with a goal and two assists.
The Knights – boosted further by the return of forward Mac Howlett for the first time since early November – returned from Wiltshire just the one goal down following a strong rally in the third period, one for which they emerged 4-1 down.
That was after the Knights had broken the deadlock at the Link Centre with just 69 seconds gone - Balint Pakozdi set up perfectly by Kieran Brown from behind the goal to allow him to beat Renny Marr from eight yards.
Swindon soon levelled, however, a power play opportunity enabling Aaron Nell to beat Sam Gospel with a fierce shot which nestled in the top left-hand corner at 3.50.
Less than three minutes later, the hosts were ahead when quick-thinking by Ben O’Connor saw him find Tomasz Malasinski with an inch-perfect pass from which he re-directed the puck home from in front.
It was another penalty which presented Swindon with their next goal, Logan vande Meerakker beating Gospel at his near post with a blast from the left circle at 31.10.
Just under four minutes later, Owen Griffiths was given time and space to pick his spot to make it 4-1 and leave the Knights staring into the abyss.
But a new period brought a new Knights, who got back to within one when Liam Peyton seized on a loose puck to beat Marr just 73 seconds into the third.
Chances came and went at both ends but, crucially for the Knights, the next goal was theirs, Kieran Brown threading a pass through to the advancing Matt Bissonnette who got the deftest of touches to the puck to divert it through Marr in the 52nd minute, meaning there is all to play for at Elland Road on Friday.