Leeds Knights and how their relentless drive helped deliver historic third NIHL National league title

Not just the way Leeds Knights players have been this season but, no sooner had they won their third NIHL National league in a row than talk switched to the possibility of them going on to achieve something even more historic.

Sheffield Steelers pulled off the Elite League treble last year in memorable fashion, now the conversation is around whether the Knights can do the same one tier below.

Given what the team has achieved in the past three years – three league titles, a play-off crown and a National Cup triumph – you would be foolish to rule them out. A lot of people did that in terms of winning a third league title at the start of this season.

For now, though, head coach Ryan Aldridge is determined for his weary players to enjoy the moment – the trophy presentation will take place after Saturday’s home game against Peterborough Phantoms – and get some well-earned rest.

That may mean utilising his bench to its fullest in the last two games of the regular season – they visit Hull Seahawks on Sunday – before preparing for the play-offs.

They know they will already face Hull and Peterborough in the group phase, but they will have to wait to see if they are joined by either Telford Tigers or Solway Sharks, who are carrying their scrap for the eighth and final play-off place into the final weekend.

It was the Sharks, of course, who were on the receiving end of an 11th straight win at Elland Road Ice Arena on Sunday, the 4-2 victory confirming Leeds as league champions once again.

The chances of that happening were given a huge boost earlier at the weekend with road wins at Romford Raiders and Milton Keynes Lightning – the only team left who could have stopped the Knights’ march to glory.

But it hasn’t just been about one weekend. The work behind this title triumph – like the previous two – stretches right back to the first puck drop in September.

Ever since that opening game in Dumfries against Solway, there has been no let-up, the Knights often doing the chasing this time around, before timing their run of good form to perfection, ensuring they would not be beaten in the race to get over the line first.

“When you talk about the season as a whole, I think it has just been a huge, long grind,” said Aldridge, sitting in a quiet corner of the Knights locker room after Sunday’s celebrations had quietened down. “It has been hard this year, really hard, so it feels special to get it over the line.

“The league is massive in this country and I think this one is probably the one that means the most to a lot of us in the room, out of all of them – the first, second and third one – this means the most.

“It has definitely been the hardest one to win. In here, in the room, as a group, it’s been the hardest – but that’s also because the league has just been better and much stronger this season.”

Throughout the season, Aldridge has heaped praise and criticism on his team in equal measure but, deep down, he is a coach who cares deeply about his players, both on and off the ice.

He admits he is not the easiest coach to play for, but that is borne out of a desire to see his players achieve their full potential.

Given what he has overseen in the past three years, it’s safe to assume he has helped them realise those ambitions.

“I think it is their relentlessness, their ability to keep going again which I love,” added Aldridge. “In Milton Keynes in the third period, we had to be selfless and everybody was selfless.

“Everybody was blocking shots, everybody was doing the little things defensively. We knew the defensive side of the game was going to win it for us and everybody bought in, every single guy.

“They are young, they are relentless. They put up with me and they are a tight bunch. They are on a learning curve and growing up all the time. It all adds up to them being a pretty special group.”