NIHL preview | 4-7 January

Normal service resumes this weekend in the Planet Ice NIHL National Division and below, with a full list of fixtures to enjoy. 

The weekend begins in the National Division with a typically full-blooded Yorkshire derby between Hull Seahawks and Sheffield Steeldogs on Thursday night. After a tough festive period which yielded one win from four matches, the Steeldogs will hope to put pressure on the teams above with victory over one of their fiercest rivals.

Top of the pile after Christmas and the New Year, Leeds Knights have tricky-looking home and away games against third-placed Peterborough Phantoms to enjoy. With Swindon Wildcats close behind, the Phantoms can ill-afford two negative results in they want to close the gap to the division’s top two.

The Wildcats will look to build on a positive festive period as they host Raiders IHC on Saturday evening before visiting Bees IHC the following day.

In the race for top spot, second-placed MK Lightning are at home to the Steeldogs on Saturday, with the Dogs – like Hull – playing three times over the next four days.

Other games to watch out for include a double-header between the Seahawks and Telford Tigers at the Hull Ice Arena. The gap between the two teams currently stands at five points, with the Tigers eager to apply a little more pressure.

The bottom two in the NIHL National Division will also face off as Solway Sharks enjoy home games on consecutive days against Bristol Pitbulls, who currently find themselves four points adrift after a difficult run of results over Christmas.

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.

NIHL National Division –

Thu 4th Jan 7:00pm Hull Seahawks vs Sheffield Steeldogs L
Sat 6th Jan 6:30pm Leeds Knights vs Peterborough Phantoms L
Sat 6th Jan 7:00pm Milton Keynes Lightning vs Sheffield Steeldogs L
Sat 6th Jan 7:00pm Solway Sharks vs Bristol Pitbulls L
Sat 6th Jan 6:30pm Swindon Wildcats vs Raiders IHC L
Sat 6th Jan 7:00pm Telford Tigers vs Hull Seahawks L
Sun 7th Jan 5:00pm Bees IHC vs Swindon Wildcats L
Sun 7th Jan 5:30pm Hull Seahawks vs Telford Tigers L
Sun 7th Jan 5:30pm Peterborough Phantoms vs Leeds Knights L
Sun 7th Jan 4:30pm Sheffield Steeldogs vs Raiders IHC L
Sun 7th Jan 3:00pm Solway Sharks vs Bristol Pitbulls L

NIHL North 1 (Moralee) –

Sat 6th Jan 6:00pm Blackburn Hawks vs Deeside Dragons L
Sat 6th Jan 5:30pm Hull Jets vs Widnes Wild L
Sat 6th Jan 4:40pm Sheffield Scimitars vs Billingham Stars L/C
Sun 7th Jan 5:15pm Deeside Dragons vs Blackburn Hawks L
Sun 7th Jan 7:20pm Nottingham Lions vs Hull Jets L/C
Sun 7th Jan 5:30pm Solihull Barons vs Widnes Wild L
Sun 7th Jan 5:00pm Whitley Warriors vs Sheffield Scimitars L

NIHL South 1 (Britton) –

Sat 6th Jan 6:15pm Oxford City Stars vs Invicta Dynamos L
Sat 6th Jan 6:30pm Slough Jets vs Chelmsford Chieftains L
Sat 6th Jan 5:00pm Solent Devils vs Milton Keynes Thunder L
Sun 7th Jan 6:00pm Chelmsford Chieftains vs Slough Jets L
Sun 7th Jan 5:45pm Invicta Dynamos vs Solent Devils L
Sun 7th Jan 6:45pm Streatham Redhawks vs Oxford City Stars L

*Slough Jets and Solent Devils met on Wednesday night, with the Devils winning 5-3.

NIHL North 2 (Laidler) –

Sat 6th Jan 7:00pm Coventry NIHL Blaze vs Sutton Sting L
Sat 6th Jan 12:30pm Kingston Sharks vs Bradford Bulldogs L
Sat 6th Jan 7:40pm Sheffield Titans vs Altrincham Aces L/C
Sun 7th Jan 5:30pm Billingham Buccaneers vs Sheffield Titans L
Sun 7th Jan 5:30pm Bradford Bulldogs vs Coventry NIHL Blaze L
Sun 7th Jan 1:00pm Sutton Sting vs Nottingham Lions NIHL 2 L
Sun 7th Jan 6:00pm Telford Tigers NIHL 2 vs Kingston Sharks L

NIHL South 2 (Wilkinson) –

Sat 6th Jan 7:00pm Bristol Pitbulls NIHL 2 vs Solent Junior Devils L/C
Sat 6th Jan 5;30pm Guildford Phoenix vs Cardiff Fire L/C
Sat 6th Jan 5:45pm Invicta Mustangs vs Basingstoke Buffalo L
Sat 6th Jan 6:30pm Peterborough Phantoms NIHL 2 vs Lee Valley Lions L/C
Sun 7th Jan 6:30pm Basingstoke Buffalo vs Invicta Mustangs L
Sun 7th Jan 6:15pm Oxford Rising Stars vs Guildford Phoenix L/C

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