Leeds Knights still in the NIHL National title fight - but margin for error is shrinking
IT’S a chink of light, but only a very small one.
With 18 games to play, Leeds Knights remain in the hunt for a fourth NIHL National title. Just.
Going into the weekend, they trailed leaders Swindon Wildcats by 13 points with a game in hand and three regular season encounters still to come between the two. In between the pair are a strong Sheffield Steeldogs team.
After the weekend, the gap is 11 points, the Knights producing a stunning comeback in Peterborough Phantoms to secure a maximum four-point haul from their two games, while Swindon fell to their first defeat in the league since December 28.
It was Swindon’s eighth defeat overall this season, the same number of losses the Knights incurred on the way to their second regular season league title in 2023-24.
This season, Leeds have already lost 12 games, 10 in regulation. One more defeat will equal the number of games they lost on their way to a third league crown last season.
The margin for error is minute and they will need help from elsewhere to overhaul Swindon.
They will probably also need the Steeldogs - who they meet in a two-legged NIHL National Cup final next month - to slip up, too.
The gap between Leeds and Slava Koulikov’s team is six points, with Leeds having three games in hand and two league clashes still to come between the Yorkshire rivals.
Injuries could yet play a key role, the Knights currently coping without talismanic captain Kieran Brown with an upper-body injury, with a similar situation always possible elsewhere given the ferociously physical nature of the game.
Nothing is settled yet, but the odds – and probably the numbers – are not currently in Leeds’ favour to make it four league titles in a row.
It may well be that the quest for silverware this season lies outside of the regular season schedule for the Knights – who would turn down holding on to the National Cup?
Either way, it won’t be a case of them surrendering their league crown without a fight, as clearly seen on Sunday night in Peterborough.
Two first-period goals for Edgars Vengis ensured the Knights went in at 2-2 after the first 20 minutes but, with less than three minutes remaining, they found themselves staring down the barrel at 4-2 down.
But a power play which has struggled in recent weeks came to the fore, the Knights scoring twice on the man advantage in the last three minutes to take the game into overtime.
No sooner had the puck dropped, than the Knights made it four power play strikes for the night, Liam Peyton weaving through the Peterborough ranks far too easily to seal a stunning 5-4 win, keeping those title hopes just about alive.
Key games still to come between top three ...
SWINDON WILDCATS remain the clear favourites to win their first-ever NIHL National regular season league title in 2025-26.
They currently sit top of the standings, five points clear of second-placed Sheffield Steeldogs with two games in hand.
Sunday night’s defeat at Telford Tigers was only their fifth defeat in regulation – half as many as suffered by their two rivals.
Defending champions Leeds Knights are six points further back than the Steeldogs, but have played one game less than the Wildcats and have three in hand on their Yorkshire rivals.
The three rivals still have to face-off against each other several times between now and the final week of the campaign which ends on Sunday, March 22 – all pivotal games.
Leeds v Swindon
Fri, Feb 6: Swindon v Leeds
Fri, Feb 13: Leeds v Swindon
Sat, Mar 7: Swindon v Leeds
Leeds v Steeldogs
Sat, Feb 14: Steeldogs v Leeds
Sun, Mar 8: Leeds v Steeldogs
Steeldogs v Swindon
Sat, Feb 28: Steeldogs v Swindon
Sat, Mar 21: Swindon v Steeldogs