Leeds Knights v Hull Seahawks: Knights need to find good habits again in order to maintain success
RYAN ALDRIDGE takes his Leeds Knights team over to Hull Seahawks on Boxing Day hoping they can rediscover the kind of consistency that has made them so successful over the past three years.
The Knights head to East Yorkshire sat third in the NIHL National standings, seven points off leaders Swindon Wildcats and five behind second-placed Sheffield Steeldogs, who have played two games more and who visit The Castle on Saturday.
As we sit at exactly the halfway point in the regular season with 27 games gone, the defending league champions are still very much in the title frame.
But Aldridge is aware his team cannot afford too many more slip-ups of the kind that saw them go down 2-0 at bottom club Solway Sharks last Saturday.
And with Yorkshire derbies against Hull and Sheffield accounting for their next three games – the Knights visit Ice Sheffield on New Year’s Eve – ahead of the first leg of their National Cup semi-final at Swindon on January 3, the next 10 days could define the Knights’ campaign.
“There is still a lot to play for,” said Aldridge, whose team have lost three of their last four games, two of them resulting in shut outs.
“You think about the points difference and where it is now, it’s pretty much half the season gone and there’s another half to go. Swindon are a strong side but there’s a lot of hockey still to play.
“We’ve just got to find a way to get back to our normal selves because we’re a bit up and down at the moment.”
One issue which is causing Aldridge concern is the Knights’ misfiring power play - at 16.67 per cent, the second worst in the league.
The loss of veteran playmaker Matt Bissonnette for the past two games has only exacerbated the situation.
“Our power play is terrible right now,” said Aldridge. “And the 5-on-3 opportunity we had (in Solway) wasn’t much better.
“Having Bizz out of the line-up - especially on the power play - is a big miss but, still, even with him in the line-up, our power play just isn’t good enough this year.
“It’s just about trying to get more shots, I just don’t think we shoot the puck enough.”
When the Knights won the league last year, their power play ran at 32.31 per cent success rate, third best in the league.
Their penalty kill was better than every other team, running at 81.41 per cent. This year, it stands at slightly less – 79.41 per cent – fourth overall in the league.