Leeds Knights open up with maximum return in new NIHL National season

LEADING MAN: Captain Kieran Brown scored four goals across two nights as his Leeds Knights team enjoyed a maximum return on the opening weekend of the NIHL National 2022-23 season. Picture courtesy of Oliver Portamento.

AS opening weekends go, Leeds Knights emerged from the start of their NIHL National campaign in pretty good shape.

Having tamed defending champions Telford Tigers with a 7-4 win on home ice on Saturday, Ryan Aldridge’s team built on that momentum with a 6-2 triumph on the road at Raiders IHC 24 hours later.

Everybody already knows about Kieran Brown and his knack for racking up prolific points tallies - anyone remember last season? This time around he looks likely to have a couple of team-mates as rivals in the shape of import forward Grant Cooper his linemate, Cole Shudra.

Cooper led the way with four goals from the weekend, even enjoying a hat-trick in the win over Telford. Brown and Shudra bagged three apiece. The good news for head coach Aldridge is that Brown is on a different line to Cooper and Shudra, making his team an overall more potent threat.

ON GUARD: Jordan Griffin (left) and Lewis Baldwin get prepared at a face-off during Saturday's win over Telford Tigers. Picture courtesy of Oliver Portamento.

Leeds had come into the campaign in promising form, having emerged from the pre-season Yorkshire Cup tournament against Sheffield Steeldogs and Hul Seahawks with a 100 per cent win record.

They continued in the same vain in front of their own fans on Saturday, overcoming a typically obdurate Telford team.

The impressive Cooper continued where he had left off the weekend before, but it was Brown - in his first competitive game as captain - who got the ball rolling at 1.03 before Cooper opened his account just over a minute later.

Telford quickly halved the deficit through Vladimir Luka, the scores being levelled before 10 minutes had elapsed by former Leeds Chiefs’ forward Brodie Jesson.

It was Cooper - fast becoming another hero for the Knights’ faithful - who struck next, restoring his team’s lead at 11.04, a lead that was doubled with just 36 seconds left on the clock in the first when centre Matt Haywood fired past Brad Day.

Just over three minutes of the second had elapsed before Cooper sealed a memorable treble, although Telford kept it interesting when Luka grabbed his second to make it 5-3 at 26.30.

It became a one-goal game when Daniel Mulcahy tipped in from in front off a Luka blast, but relief came in the shape of a Cole Shudra effort at 50.43, Brown firing home a piledriver three minutes later to seal the points.

On Sunday, Cooper and Brown continued where they had left off from the previous evening with a goal apiece, with Shudra (2), Haywood and defenceman Archie Hazeldine also getting in on the act.

After Blahoslav Novák opened the scoring for the home side at 11.14, it was Shudra who got the Knights on the board just under six minutes later.

Just 27 seconds into the second, Cooper put the Knights in front for a lead they would not relinquish again all night.

Some neat interplay between Brown and Adam Barnes then set up Haywood to make it 3-1 at 35.56.

That was how it stayed until the 48th minute when three goals in a frenetic 54 seconds sealed the points, Shudra making it 4-1 before Hazeldine and Brown joined the party, the Raiders grabbing a consolation effort through Jake Sylvester.