Ice Hockey: Mixed fortunes for Widnes Wild teams

Vlads Vulcanovs in action for the Wild

Written by Paul Breeze
Photos by Geoff White

Sunday, March 20
Blackburn Hawks 3 Widnes Wild 8
Moralee Division

Widnes Wild gave their hopes of a third place finish in the Moralee Division table a mighty boost with a 3-8 victory over north west rivals Blackburn Hawks on Sunday.

Despite being outshot by some 2 to 1 over the course of the game, it was Blackburn who took the lead on five minutes and then went on to take a 2-0 advantage into the first period break.

Widnes moved up a gear in the second period and a powerplay goal from Latvian import Vlads Vulcanovs just 19 seconds from the restart halved the deficit.

A goal from Tom Stubley on 24 minutes levelled the score but Blackburn edged back into the lead three minutes later. Widnes equalised again through Player Coach Richard Haggar on 29 minutes and then went ahead for the first time in the game courtesy of a Matty Barlow strike with two minutes left in the period.

Three unanswered goals early in the third period – from Bez Hughes, Vulkanovs and Dani Haid - handed Widnes a commanding 3-7 lead and things began to get a bit niggly as the Hawks saw the game slipping away from them.

A series of fights broke out on 52 minutes that saw two players from each team banished to the penalty box and, in the ensuing powerplay, Richard Haggar scored his second Widnes goal of the night to round off the scoring for the game.

With just over a minute left in the game Wild’s Joe Greaves got involved in an altercation with former Widnes player Lee Pollitt and at the final buzzer Lee Kemp got involved with another former Wild player Matt Wainwright and got handed a match penalty for his efforts.

Solway Sharks were confirmed as Moralee Division champions at the weekend without even having to step onto the ice after the other various results around the league went in their favour. Two defeats for second place Whitley Warriors mean they can no longer catch the Sharks at the top of the table but they are safe as runners up as they have a 12 point advantage over the Wild with just 4 games left to play in the regular season.

The situation is much closer as you look further down the table, however, and just three points separate places three to six with Widnes, Solihull, Sheffield and Billingham all still in the hunt for third spot.

The Wild are next in action with a rare double header weekend at Planet Ice Widnes with home games against the Hawks and Billingham Stars this Saturday and Sunday respectively. A special ticket offer has been made available for fans to be able to watch both home games over the weekend at a reduced price, costing £17.00 for adults and £10.00 for children for both games. This represents a saving of £5 on the normal cost of two games for adults and £2 for children.

The special Double Header tickets must be purchased in advance, either in person from the Box Office at Planet Ice Widnes or via the online booking system.

Sunday, March 20
Widnes Wild Ladies 3 Firebees 7 (WPL)

The Widnes Wild Ladies team put in an impressive performance against the Slough-based Firebees at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday and were ultimately unlucky to finish up on the wrong end of a 3-7 scoreline.

After a close opening phase, the visitors opened the scoring in the fifth minute and raced to a 0-3 lead before Catherine Fell pulled a goal back for the Wild women with just 44 seconds left in the first period.

The second period was a much closer run affair with the Firebees being restricted to one single goal on 26 minutes, which was cancelled out by a superb strike by Preston Gennoe to leave the score standing at 2-4 at the second period break.

A second goal for Gennoe early in the third period narrowed the deficit to just one goal and Widnes really were flying. As they pushed forward looking for an equaliser, however, they were caught out at the back and the Firebees struck again to make the score 3-5.

This was really a most entertaining game to watch and, although the visitors had the upper hand for long spells, the Wild Ladies never gave up and, on another day, might well have snatched a result.

As it was, two late goals gave the scoreline a more uneven feel than the game deserved but the Wild women have plenty of positives to look back on. In the Widnes goal, Stephanie Drinkwater faced an incredible 93 shots but managed to turn away 86 of them for an impressive 92.7 save percentage.

The Winifred Mabel Letts memorial MVP awards sponsored by Poet In Residence Lucy London went to Phebe Dodd for the Firebees and Laura Marcroft for Widnes and were presented by off-ice match official Paul Breeze.

The Widnes Wild Ladies team are next in action on Sunday, April 3 when they entertain the Slough Sirens at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.15pm face off.

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