Leeds Knights maintaining perfect course in early stages of NIHL National title defence
LEEDS KNIGHTS enjoyed a road trip to remember as they emerged from round two of NIHL National as the only team with a 100 per cent record.
They may have had it all their own way in a 7-0 win at Bristol Pitbulls on Saturday night - thanks in part to a Kieran Brown hat-trick and a double from Matt Barron - but they were met by a sterner test on Sunday at Telford Tigers.
Once again, though, they passed with flying colours, by heading home to Leeds on the back of a 6-4 victory.
But it wasn’t until the third period that the Knights were able to put some welcome distance between themselves and Tom Watkins’s team, having earlier let a 4-2 lead slip.
It was Barron who broke the deadlock in the sixth minute, his effort cancelled out by Devon Skoleski just under four minutes later before the Knights took a two-goal lead into the intermission thanks to strikes from Mac Howlett and Finley Bradon, the latter on the power play at 15.14.
Jake Price made it a one-goal game 49 seconds into the second period, only for Barron to restore the cushion at 22.32.
Telford then hit back to level with two power play goals in less than a minute, the first at 25.45 from Zachary Yokoyama after Dylan Hehir was in the box for tripping, the equaliser coming just 38 seconds later from the stick of Scott McKenzie when the Knights were short-handed after Oli Endicott was ejected from the game for a check to the head.
That was how it stayed until the third period when Matt Bissonnette scored his fourth of the season in the 46th minute to make it 5-4, the same player being on hand to seal the points with an empty-net strike at 59.17 after the Tigers had thrown caution to the wind when taking out goaltender Brad Day.
On Saturday, in Bristol, as Hull had the previous weekend, Leeds enjoyed a comfortable time at Bristol, running out 7-0 winners.
Captain Kieran Brown – back from injury – led the way with a hat-trick, opening the scoring at 2.28.
Barron then struck twice to make it 3-0 before the first break, Howlett also getting in on the act at 21.37.
Brown doubled his tally on the power play just under three minutes later and completed his hat-trick early in the third before Ethan Hehir wrapped up the scoring with his first of the season.