The race to reach the Final Four steps up a notch this weekend as play-off action continues in the Planet Ice NIHL National Division.
In Group A, Leeds Knights and Peterborough Phantoms – both of whom picked up successive wins on the opening weekend of the play-offs – will prepare to do battle.
The Phantoms finished the regular season fifth but know that any kind of positive result could stand them in good stead to reach the Finals Weekend at Coventry’s Skydome Arena, with crunch games to come next week against Hull Seahawks.
The Seahawks were beaten twice by Leeds on the opening weekend of the play-offs but will have another chance to get off the mark this time around against Bees IHC, who were the final team to confirm their play-off spot at the end of the regular season.
There has been very little to separate the two sides this season in terms of their head-to-head record. Of their five encounters, one was decided in overtime, one by a penalty shoot-out and one by a one-goal margin in regular time – the anomaly being a 7-0 home win for the Seahawks back in October.
In Group B, Telford Tigers could advance their claims for a Final Four berth when they come up against 2023/24 National Cup winners MK Lightning.
Lightning picked up just one point from a possible four against Swindon Wildcats last weekend, while the Tigers won home and away against Raiders IHC.
With the Raiders coming into this group as the lowest-seeded team, Swindon will have their eyes on another weekend four-pointer which would put them in pole position for a spot at the finals.
This weekend, the WNIHL Elite also returns with a bumper four-game fixture list, with Solihull Vixens and Queen Bees IHC tied at the top on 21 points.
There have been no games in the top division over the past two weekends as several players travelled to Riga, Latvia for Great Britain’s Women’s World Championship Division I Group B campaign.
Full fixtures for the weekend can be found below. Thanks to our friends at NIHL Stats, you can also check out the latest fixtures from the WNIHL and junior leagues.
Sat 13th Apr 6:45pm Bees IHC vs Hull Seahawks PO
Sat 13th Apr 7:00pm Milton Keynes Lightning vs Telford Tigers PO
Sat 13th Apr 6:30pm Swindon Wildcats vs Raiders IHC PO
Sat 13th Apr 7:00pm Peterborough Phantoms vs Leeds Knights PO
Sun 14th Apr 5:30pm Hull Seahawks vs Bees IHC PO
Sun 14th Apr 5:15pm Leeds Knights vs Peterborough Phantoms PO
Sun 14th Apr 5:15pm Raiders IHC vs Swindon Wildcats PO
Sun 14th Apr 6:00pm Telford Tigers vs Milton Keynes Lightning PO
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