NIHL preview | 8-10 March

Another fixture-laden weekend lies in wait as teams across the NIHL fight it out to earn play-off hockey at the end of the season. 

In the Planet Ice NIHL National Division, Leeds Knights will have an early opportunity to go 10 points clear at the top of the standings on Friday night when they visit Swindon Wildcats – a side they beat 9-7 in West Yorkshire last weekend.

The Knights will then enjoy a double-header against fierce Yorkshire rivals Hull Seahawks, who knocked them out of the National Cup semi-finals little over a month ago.

In another National Division double-header, second-placed MK Lightning will face Bees IHC home and away, with the latter still firmly in the mix to secure a top-eight spot come the end of the regular season.

After hosting the Knights on Friday, another of the division’s front-runners, Swindon, will welcome bottom side Bristol Pitbulls to the Link Centre on Saturday evening.

Having taste defeat twice last weekend, the Wildcats will undoubtedly be out to right some wrongs on their home rink this time around.

Another of the play-off contenders who came up empty-handed last weekend were Peterborough Phantoms. They face Solway Sharks home and away this weekend – starting in Dumfries on Saturday.

Elsewhere in the race for the play-offs, sixth-placed Telford Tigers can take a huge step towards achieving a top-eight berth when they come up against Raiders IHC and Sheffield Steeldogs – two of the teams below them in the standings.

The Raiders, currently four points ahead of ninth-placed Solway, also come up against the Pitbulls on Sunday and will be keen to collect two points on home ice.

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 –

Fri 8th Mar 7;30pm Swindon Wildcats vs Leeds Knights L
Sat 9th Mar 6:30pm Leeds Knights vs Hull Seahawks L
Sat 9th Mar 7:00pm Milton Keynes Lightning vs Bees IHC L
Sat 9th Mar 6:00pm Solway Sharks vs Peterborough Phantoms L
Sat 9th Mar 6:30pm Swindon Wildcats vs Bristol Pitbulls L
Sat 9th Mar 7:00pm Telford Tigers vs Raiders IHC L
Sun 10th Mar 5:00pm Bees IHC vs Milton Keynes Lightning L
Sun 10th Mar 5:30pm Hull Seahawks vs Leeds Knights L
Sun 10th Mar 5:30pm Peterborough Phantoms vs Solway Sharks L
Sun 10th Mar 5:15pm Raiders IHC vs Bristol Pitbulls L
Sun 10th Mar 1:30pm Sheffield Steeldogs vs Telford Tigers L

NIHL North 1 (Moralee) –

Sat 9th Mar 5:15pm Deeside Dragons vs Blackburn Hawks M56
Sat 9th Mar 5:30pm Hull Jets vs Nottingham Lions L
Sat 9th Mar 4:40pm Sheffield Scimitars vs Billingham Stars L
Sun 10th Mar 5:30pm Billingham Stars vs Hull Jets L
Sun 10th Mar 6:00pm Blackburn Hawks vs Sheffield Scimitars L
Sun 10th Mar 5:15pm Deeside Dragons vs Whitley Warriors L
Sun 10th Mar 5:30pm Solihull Barons vs Nottingham Lions L

NIHL South 1 (Britton) –

Sat 9th Mar 5:15pm Romford Buccaneers vs Invicta Dynamos L
Sat 9th Mar 5:00pm Solent Devils vs Oxford City Stars L
Sat 9th Mar 5:30pm Streatham Redhawks vs Chelmsford Chieftains L
Sun 10th Mar 5:45pm Invicta Dynamos vs Chelmsford Chieftains L
Sun 10th Mar 6:45pm Milton Keynes Thunder vs Solent Devils L
Sun 10th Mar 6:15pm Oxford City Stars vs Streatham Redhawks BC

NIHL North 2 (Laidler) –

Sat 9th Mar 7:30pm Billingham Buccaneers vs Nottingham Lions NIHL 2 L
Sat 9th Mar 7:40pm Sheffield Titans vs Sutton Sting L
Sun 10th Mar 12:30pm Kingston Sharks vs Sheffield Titans L
Sun 10th Mar 7:20pm Nottingham Lions NIHL 2 vs Bradford Bulldogs L
Sun 10th Mar 4:40pm Sutton Sting vs Billingham Buccaneers L
Sun 10th Mar 6:00pm Telford Tigers NIHL 2 vs Altrincham Aces L

NIHL South 2 (Wilkinson) –

Sat 9th Mar 6:30pm Bristol Pitbulls NIHL 2 vs Streatham Black Hawks L
Sat 9th Mar 5:30pm Chelmsford Warriors vs Solent Junior Devils L
Sat 9th Mar 5:30pm Guildford Phoenix vs Haringey Huskies L
Sat 9th Mar 5:30pm Invicta Mustangs vs Oxford Rising Stars L
Sun 10th Mar 5:30pm Lee Valley Lions vs Cardiff Fire L
Sun 10th Mar 6:45pm Streatham Black Hawks vs Basingstoke Buffalo L

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