Hull Seahawks strike late to edge out rivals Leeds Knights in heated derby play-off battle

As the clock ticked down it looked as though the hosts were set to record a third straight Group A win in the post-season, a result which would have left their rivals’ chances of making the Final Four Weekend in Coventry on April 19-20 hanging by a thread.

But a failure to clear the zone saw the puck fall to Declan Balmer, whose shot on net was parried by goalie Sam Gospel straight to Owen Sobchak who smashed home the rebound to make it 6-6 with just 13 seconds remaining.

It was in keeping with an exhilarating, yet often feisty and ill-tempered affair that was played out - the kind of game wanted and expected at this stage of the season.

Overtime duly came and it was the Seahawks who struck the killer blow, Lee Bonner latching on to a Jason Hewitt feed from the right to fire past Gospel and secure a precious two points for the visitors.

Afterwards, Knights’ head coach Ryan Aldridge vented his frustration, saying his team had thrown the game away.

““We lost the game tonight, they didn’t win it - we lost it,” said Aldridge. “There were a lot of guys who underperformed tonight, I don’t think we were at our best.

“We started slow, they took the lead, we managed to pull it back but in the end they got the points. We should have won that hockey game.”

The two meet again at Hull Ice Arena on Sunday evening with Aldridge demanding a reaction from his team.

“We’ll have a reaction tomorrow I’m sure,” he added. “It’s not like our team to dwell on that or sit on it - we need a reaction from everybody.

“They are all big boys, they pull up their big boy pants and start again. It’s 0-0 again tomorrow night and guys have got to show up.”

The Hull bench by contrast was full of smiles, given how they had taken two points when all seemed lost with just a few seconds to play in regulation.

Head coach Matty Davies said it was “a massive win for his team” but can expect a similarly close encounter when the two meet again less than 24 hours later.

In a game which saw momentum switch time and time again and the officials seemingly prepared to let most things go, the deadlock was broken with only 46 seconds gone when Matt Bissonnette beat Dmitri Zimozdra from long range.

Thereafter, it was Hull - boosted by the return of defenceman Dave Phillips for his first game since January - who dominated the opening exchanges, levelling through Johnny Corneil at 10.54 on the power play, his shot from the right circle saved by Gospel but rebounding in off a Knights player.

Just under four minutes had passed before the Seahawks went ahead, good work by Svec down the right-hand side allowing the on-rushing Sobchak to fire home from close range.

It got even better for the visitors at 18.47 when Gospel’s right-pad save off Dave Phillips’ fell kindly to Corneil to stroke home into the empty net.

It was a deserved lead for the Seahawks but the second period was to belong to the hosts, their pressure eventually rewarded when quick-thinking from Matt Haywood deep in his own zone saw him find Bissonnette who again got the better of Zimozdra from long range to make it 3-2 just before the halfway mark.

Just under five minutes later, the teams were tied, Jordan Buesa driving down centre ice before the puck broke loose for Mac Howlett to fire through traffic.

The Knights went in ahead after good work by Innes Gallacher saw him find Oli Endicott, whose shot was saved by Zimozdra only for Finn Bradon to slap the puck home in mid-air at 38.10.

The teams were level again in slightly bizarre circumstances early in the third when, on the power play, Sobchak flat-batted the puck towards goal after it rebounded off the boards behind the net and watched as it cannoned off the back of Gospel’s leg and over the line.

The industrious Howlett then got his reward with a second goal when he latched on to a Bissonnette pass from behind the goal to blast Leeds back into the lead at 46.05.

Again, the Seahawks responded Bonner finding Hewitt at the top of the right circle from where he produced a sublime finish to Gospel’s right at 53.43.

But the teams weren’t done yet, the excellent Bissonnette making it a four-point night for himself when setting up Matt Barron to beat Zimozdra from three yards out on the power play at 56.53.

It looked like that would be enough, but the Seahawks had other ideas, Sobchak quickest to react from close in to force overtime before Bonner applied the finishing touch on the break in overtime.