It was a successful weekend for the top two in the Planet Ice NIHL National Division during Gameweek 13, with both MK Lightning and Leeds Knights earning maximum points.

Milton Keynes started their weekend in convincing fashion by defeating Bristol Pitbulls 9-3 on home ice. This was followed up by a 6-2 win at Sheffield Steeldogs, who came into the latest round of fixtures third in the standings.

Leeds remain hot on the heels of the table-toppers, however, as they thrashed Berkshire Bees 6-1 on the road on Saturday, before edging Swindon Wildcats in overtime the following day.

In fact, the Knights were the only one of the five home teams to win on Sunday.

Swindon were able to climb up a place in the standings, despite their loss in Leeds. In fact, Saturday’s 3-0 win over Solway Sharks at the Link Centre meant they took three points from a possible four during Gameweek 13, moving two points ahead of the Steeldogs, who only played once over the weekend.

Elsewhere, Romford Raiders were unable to build on the success of their NIHL Cup semi-final first leg victory over MK Lightning in midweek as they were beaten by the two sides immediately below them – Hull Seahawks and Peterborough Phantoms.

Both the Seahawks and Phantoms enjoyed four-point weekends, meaning Romford have now dropped to seventh in the standings.

There was no shortage of late drama on Sunday, with both Leeds and Hull’s games going beyond regulation.

Another nail-biting affair came in Bristol, where the Pitbulls were toppled 5-4 by Solway, who strengthened their grip on eighth spot in the NIHL standings.

The Sharks were indebted to the performance of John Dunbar, who has involved in all five of their goals on Sunday evening, scoring four.

Results – NIHL National Division

Sat 7th Dec Hull Seahawks 8-1 Romford Raiders L
Sat 7th Dec Berkshire Bees 1-6 Leeds Knights L
Sat 7th Dec Swindon Wildcats 3-0 Solway Sharks L
Sat 7th Dec Milton Keynes Lightning 9-3 Bristol Pitbulls L
Sat 7th Dec Peterborough Phantoms 4-3 Telford Tigers L
Sun 8th Dec Sheffield Steeldogs 2-6 Milton Keynes Lightning L
Sun 8th Dec Bristol Pitbulls 4-5 (OT) Solway Sharks L
Sun 8th Dec Leeds Knights 3-2 (OT) Swindon Wildcats L
Sun 8th Dec Romford Raiders 4-5 Peterborough Phantoms L
Sun 8th Dec Telford Tigers 5-6 (OT) Hull Seahawks L

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

Featured photo credit: Pete Fears

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