Leeds Knights leadership group driving the way forward in pursuit of third NIHL National league crown

The Knights have emerged from a frantic schedule of five games in eight days with plenty to savour - not least a NIHL National Cup triumph over Romford Raiders, but also the fact they have ensured they remain neck and neck with Milton Keynes Lightning in a fierce battle for the regular season league title.

Milton Keynes are expected to pull two points clear on Sunday night given they are playing a Bristol Pitbull team on home ice who they thumped 11-0 on the road on Saturday night.

Third-placed Swindon Wildcats can close the gap on Leeds to three points if they get the better of a Telford Tigers team who are scrapping to make the play-offs.

The Knights get a well-deserved day off ahead of resuming their schedule this Friday at home to Romford (7.30pm).

While the Knights’ five-game ‘week’ started with defeat in the first leg of the Cup final at Romford, it ended on a high as they ran out 4-1 winners at Peterborough Phantoms.

That came on the back of two wins earlier in the week against Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Steeldogs and, of course, the home win in the second leg of the Cup final against Romford which saw them get their hands on that particular piece of silverware for the first-ever time.

As always with successful teams, it has been a collective effort to get the Knights this far, something head coach Aldridge is quick to acknowledge when it comes to discussing players who have made a big impact this year, not just in terms of points but in their influence on those around them - both on the ice and in the locker room.

“The three Matts (Barron, Bissonnette and Haywood) always give you the same thing - leadership and a calming influence,” said Aldridge on the group of players whose experience has proved vital this season and will continue to do so during the title run-in.

“And Sam Gospel is obviously a rock back there for us every night and says his pieces in the locker room as well.”

On Saturday in Peterborough, the ‘three Matts’ led the way, Canadian import Barron scoring a superb hat-trick - taking his tally for the season to 37 - with Haywood adding an empty-netter and Bissonnette posting three assists.

On Friday, it was captain Kieran Brown who proved to be the difference against a Steeldogs team determined to avoid a repeat of the 6-0 thumping they had received at the hands of Leeds three nights earlier at Ice Sheffield.

They were certainly a tougher proposition, but they were unable to find an answer to stop Brown, who scored a hat-trick to secure a 14th straight win over the Knights’ Yorkshire rivals.

“Kieran leads in a different way,” added Aldridge. “I’ve probably been hard on Kieran this year but now he’s playing how Kieran plays.

“And when he’s a predator like that and when he works hard like that at both ends of the ice, good things happen for him and I’m really proud of him - he’s been unbelievable.”

Having secured the NIHL National Cup, Aldridge believes some pressure has been lifted from his players’ shoulders - although the drive to secure a third successive league crown is as fierce as it ever has been.

“It was nice to get the Cup over the line,” admitted Aldridge.

“That probably settled a lot of our nerves. I think we were panicking a little bit that we weren’t going to get that one.

“We’ve been here before, but it’s almost in the hands of the hockey gods at this point in the season.

“We’re in a good spot, though, it’s two good teams. There’s lots of hockey still to be played and we’ll see what happens.”