Just three points separate the top five in the Planet Ice NIHL National Division, with three teams locked at the top after Gameweek 5. 

The big games of the weekend came in Yorkshire as Leeds Knights and Hull Seahawks – who entered the latest round of fixture as the top two in the division – faced each other home and away.

Both teams were victorious on home ice, the Knights 6-3 winners in West Yorkshire before falling to a narrow 2-1 defeat in Humberside the following night.

With both teams dropping points, MK Lightning and Romford Raiders were able to go level on 14 points with the table-topping Knights after enjoying flawless four-point weekends.

Lightning overcame Telford Tigers 8-3 on Saturday but didn’t have things all their own way in Bristol the following day, requiring a shootout to defeat the Pitbulls after it ended 4-4.

The Raiders continued their strong start to the season, meanwhile, by edging past Sheffield Steeldogs away from home then running out impressive 7-2 winners against Berkshire Bees on Sunday.

In the weekend’s other action, Peterborough Phantoms ended their weekend on a positive note by defeating Telford 6-3, less than 24 hours on from falling to a 7-3 defeat to Swindon Wildcats at the Link Centre.

That was Swindon’s only outing of Gameweek 5, and the win was enough to see them maintain sixth in the National Division standings with games in-hand on all of the sides above them.

Further down the standings, Sheffield and Berkshire won once and lost once over the weekend, while the bottom three – Solway Sharks, Bristol and Telford – all failed to pick up wins.

The Pitbulls did, however, add a point to their tally in the standings, courtesy of Sunday’s shootout defeat to Milton Keynes.

Results – NIHL National Division

Sat 12th Oct Berkshire Bees 5-3 Solway Sharks L/C
Sat 12th Oct Leeds Knights 6-3 Hull Seahawks L/C
Sat 12th Oct Swindon Wildcats 7-3 Peterborough Phantoms L
Sat 12th Oct Milton Keynes Lightning 8-3 Telford Tigers L
Sat 12th Oct Sheffield Steeldogs 3-4 Romford Raiders L
Sun 13th Oct Bristol Pitbulls 4-5 (SO) Milton Keynes Lightning L
Sun 13th Oct Solway Sharks 1-6 Sheffield Steeldogs L/C
Sun 13th Oct Romford Raiders 7-2 Berkshire Bees L/C
Sun 13th Oct Hull Seahawks 2-1 Leeds Knights L
Sun 13th Oct Peterborough Phantoms 6-3 Telford Tigers L/C

Stay updated on all the latest fixtures and results from across the NIHL regional divisions, WNIHL and junior leagues.

Photo credit: Tony Sargent