Leeds Knights v Telford Tigers: How the NIHL National play-off rivals squared up in 2024-25
LEEDS KNIGHTS start their NIHL National play-off campaign with a trip to Shropshire on Saturday night to take on Telford Tigers – the lowest seed in the post-season.
The two then meet at Elland Road again on Sunday night. They are in Group A alongside Peterborough Phantoms and Hull Seahawks.
Milton Keynes Lightning, Swindon Wildcats, Sheffield Steeldogs and Romford Raiders make up Group B. Two teams from each group progress to the Final Four Weekend at Coventry’s SkyDome Arena.
Leeds and Telford made it to Coventry last year, but both came unstuck against Peterborough Phantoms – the Tigers edged out 5-4 in overtime before Leeds lost out 4-3 in the following day’s final after it went to a shootout.
In the 2024-25 regular season, Leeds and Telford met each other five times. This is how they stacked up against each other …
Leeds enjoyed complete superiority in the NIHL National regular season, winning all five games against Telford Tigers.
Leeds made two visits to Shropshire to start off the series, Matt Barron and Matt Bissonnette scoring two apiece in a 6-4 win on September 29 – the other coming from Fin Bradon. Bissonnette then matched his tally on a return to Telford on November 2 in a 5-3 win, which also produced goals for Barron, Kieran Brown and Matt Haywood.
The following night produced the closest encounter of the season between the two sides at Elland Road, Leeds needing a 54th-minute winner from Haywood to add to his earlier strike and a 21st-minute opener from Noah McMullin.
Later that month goals from Innes Gallacher, Howlett, Barron, Brown and Jordan Buesa saw Leeds to a comfortable 5-1 win at home, the series wrapped up in Telford with a 3-0 win thanks to strikes from Bradon, Brown and Barron, meaning the Canadian has been the Knights’ most prolific scorer against the Tigers so far this season.
Sep 29: Telford 4 Leeds 6
(TEL: Devon Skoleski, Jake Price, Zachary Yokoyama, Scott McKenzie; LEE: Barron (2), Bissonnette (2), Howlett, Bradon)
Nov 2: Telford 3 Leeds 5
(TEL: Finley Howells, Edgars Landsbergs, Harry Ferguson; LEE: Bissonnette (2), Barron, Brown, Haywood)
Nov 3: Leeds 3 Telford 2
(LEE: McMullin, Haywood (2): TEL: Luka (2)
Nov 30: Leeds 5 Telford 1
(LEE: Gallacher, Howlett, Barron, Brown, Buesa; TEL: Luka)
Mar 9: Telford 0 Leeds 3
(LEE: Bradon, Brown, Barron
Goals - LEEDS: 22; TELFORD: 10
Knights scorers - 5: Barron, 4: Bissonnette, 3: Haywood, Brown, 2: Bradon, Howlett, 1: Gallacher, Buesa, McMullin