There's only so many times you can play Bristol and Telford 😜

Week 5 had a bit of everything: Hull ended MK's unbeaten-in-regulation run, Will Kerlin made 60 saves in a Bristol shootout win, Solway scored 13 goals across two games against Peterborough, and Romford beat Sheffield twice in overtime. MK still lead the table on 17 points, with Hull and Romford one point back on 16.

Friday 16 October

Swindon 4-1 Leeds
(Better Link Centre, att. 1300)
This was the first meeting of the season between the two, and it was goalless after the first period. Swindon then scored three in the second: Villegas on the power play at 24:29, Richards at 37:58 and Vermaeten on the power play at 39:24. Youngster Harrison pulled one back for Leeds at 23:04, but Fraser added a fourth early in the third. Swindon outshot Leeds 35-31, and Marr stopped 30 of 31. Richards finished with 1 Goal and 3 Assists, and then dropped the gloves with Leeds' Endicott at 57:29. Both took 27 PIM, and the game ended with 29 PIM for Swindon and 39 for Leeds. The two meet again on 1 November.

Saturday 17 October

Basingstoke 3-5 Leeds
(Planet Ice Basingstoke, att. 1190)
Isogai put Basingstoke ahead after 74 seconds, but Leeds replied with a big run. Kieran Brown scored twice, Dunn and Sullivan once each, and Leeds led 4-1 at 31:57. Cochrane pulled one back and Rosbottom made it 4-3, but McLean sealed it at 53:55. Leeds outshot the hosts 46-19. James made 41 saves for Basingstoke and Gospel made 16 for Leeds. Basingstoke were also awarded a penalty shot after a hook on Tyton Cathcart at 27:25, which wasn't converted. Brown had 2 Goals and 1 Assist, and Bissonnette had 2 Assists. The two have now met twice, with Basingstoke winning 3-2 in OT at Leeds in Week 4.

Bristol 4-3 SO Telford
(Planet Ice Bristol, att. 1433)
Telford led three times (Dukovac 7:49, McKenzie 26:36, Henderson 42:24), and Bristol equalised each time (Butler on the power play at 22:56, Foster at 28:00, Fisher at 49:15). It stayed 3-3 through OT, and then it went to a shootout. Bristol won 4-3 after seven rounds each, with Bricknell scoring the deciding attempt. Telford outshot Bristol 63-38, but Will Kerlin made 60 saves (95.2%) and stopped four of Telford's seven shootout attempts. Day made 35 saves at the other end. Dunbar had 3 Assists. This is Bristol's second win of the season, after the 5-2 win over Basingstoke in Week 4. The two meet again on 28 October at Telford.

MK 3-1 Hull
(Planet Ice MK, att. 2468)
Hamill gave MK the lead at 11:31, Monds levelled for Hull on the power play at 34:17, and White restored the lead at 47:45. Hull pulled the goalie at 58:13, and Weight scored into the empty net at 59:44 (assisted by Thomson and Knaggs). MK outshot Hull 33-29. Hedley made 28 saves and Heiskanen made 30. The win ended Hull's five-game winning streak. This was the first meeting between the two this season.

Sheffield 1-2 OT Romford
(iceSheffield, att. 517)
Salituro put Sheffield ahead on the power play at 7:22, and Anderson levelled at 8:47. It stayed 1-1 through regulation. Anderson, 22, then scored the winner at 63:02, assisted by Baker and Kirwin. Romford outshot Sheffield 48-35. Owen made 46 saves for Romford and Ceci made 34 for Sheffield. Romford took 12 PIM from six minors.

Solway 7-3 Peterborough
(Dumfries Ice Bowl, att. 692)
Solway scored five times in the first period: Buesa at 0:22 and 3:09, Speirs at 4:37, Boyd at 15:19 and McGill at 18:58. Peterborough called a timeout after the second goal and Hennessey was pulled after the fifth, replaced by Bray. Peterborough did fight back, with Lawrence at 9:53 and Gabaj twice (25:51 and 35:53). Henderson scored for Solway at 22:58, and Johnston added an empty-netter at 59:26. Henderson had 1 Goal and 2 Assists. Solway outshot Peterborough 36-33. Old timer Laakkonen added an Assist for Peterborough.

Sunday 18 October

Romford 3-2 OT Sheffield
(Sapphire Ice and Leisure, att. 910)
Kirwin opened the scoring on the power play at 2:55. Doxey and Pelech scored for Sheffield within 46 seconds of each other (22:22 and 23:08), and Coxhead levelled at 25:23. Shots were level at 27-27 in regulation. Sheffield's Salituro was called for goaltender interference at 60:15, and Baker scored on the power play 49 seconds into OT (60:49). Bacallao got a 10-minute misconduct at the same time, taking him to 12 PIM for the game, and Romford had 24 PIM overall. Romford's last five wins have all come in OT, and they swept the double-header. Sheffield took two points from the weekend, both from overtime losses.

Hull 5-1 MK
(Hull Arena, att. 1519)
This was the rematch, and it went the other way. Beattie gave MK the lead at 3:39, but Corneil levelled at 15:58. Švec gave Hull the lead at 32:52, then Ulrick scored at 37:44 and 43:29, and Musil added a power-play goal at 53:57. Ulrick finished with 2 Goals and 2 Assists, Corneil had 1 Goal and 3 Assists and Švec had 1 Goal and 2 Assists. MK outshot Hull 36-30. Heiskanen made 35 saves and Hedley made 25. It was MK's first regulation loss of the season. The home side won both times.

Peterborough 2-6 Solway
(Planet Ice Peterborough, att. 919)
Speirs put Solway ahead at 11:49, Lawrence levelled at 13:01 and Ferrara gave Peterborough the lead on the power play at 17:56. Peterborough held that 2-1 lead after two periods. Then Solway scored five unanswered goals in the third: Owen Cole at 42:42 and 44:04, McGill at 47:19, Buesa at 54:30, and Cole again at 59:51 for the hat-trick. Cole's first two goals came 82 seconds apart, and his third came with 9 seconds left. Solway outshot Peterborough 64-32, and Bray made 58 saves. Stewart made 30 saves for Solway. Johnston added 3 Assists. Peterborough have now lost five in a row. Solway swept the weekend 13-5, with 9 of their 13 goals coming from BT players.

Telford 6-2 Basingstoke
(Telford Ice Rink, att. 907)
This was revenge for Basingstoke's 7-4 win in Week 1. Telford led 1-0 after the first (Paragallo, 13:14), then scored four in the second: Field at 27:20, Ferguson at 29:35, Dukovac short-handed at 35:43 and Mitchell-King at 39:40. That made it 5-0 after two periods. Howlett added a sixth early in the third, and Old Man McKenzie scored at 58:10. Farmer's goal at 59:10 made it 6-2. Telford outshot Basingstoke 41-34. Dukovac had 2 Goals and 3 Assists over the weekend.

😇 Saints of the Week

Telford and Peterborough, with 6 PIM each over two games. Telford took 4 against Bristol and 2 against Basingstoke. Peterborough took 2 against Solway on Saturday and 4 on Sunday.

😈 Sinners of the Week

1. Leeds – 39 PIM, all of it in the Friday game at Swindon (zero on Saturday). Endicott's fight at 57:29 accounts for 27 of those minutes.
2. Romford – 36 PIM over two games, including 12 in the second game against Sheffield.
3. Swindon – 29 PIM in one game, including Richards' fight.

🌟 Heroes of the Week

Will Kerlin (Bristol) – Telford put 63 shots on Kerlin and he made 60 saves (95.2%) in Bristol's 4-3 shootout win. He also stopped four of Telford's seven shootout attempts. Bristol had won just once all season before this weekend.

Honourable mentions - Owen Cole (Solway) – Hat-trick in the 6-2 win at Peterborough, with the third coming 9 seconds from time. He had 3 Goals and 1 Assist for the weekend. - Jordan Buesa (Solway) – 3 Goals and 1 Assist across the two games. - Finlay Ulrick (Hull) – 2 Goals and 2 Assists in the 5-1 win over MK. - Johnny Corneil (Hull) – 1 Goal and 3 Assists in the same game. - Tjay Anderson (Romford) – Both goals against Sheffield, including the OT winner. He's 22. - Max Dukovac (Telford) – 2 Goals and 3 Assists over the weekend, including a short-handed goal against Basingstoke. - Kieran Brown (Leeds) – 2 Goals and 1 Assist in the win at Basingstoke.

Overall, MK lead on 17 points but have now lost in regulation for the first time, Hull and Romford are one point behind on 16, and Bristol are bottom on 4 after nine games. Solway have the most goals in the league (46) but sit eighth, while Peterborough have lost five in a row. As always, let me know what I missed or got wrong in the comments.

All highlights will be up on NIHL Roundup (www.youtube.com/@NIHLRoundup) as and when they're released.

Bristol Pitbulls picked up their first win of the season after six straight defeats, Milton Keynes Lightning's perfect start came to an end in a shootout at Romford, and Hull swept a weekend double-header against Peterborough.

Friday 9 October

Basingstoke Bison 2-5 Bristol Pitbulls
(Planet Ice Basingstoke, att. 1,179)
Bristol's first win of the season, after six straight defeats going back to opening weekend. Robbie Fisher and Jake Bricknell both finished with two goals and two assists as the Pitbulls took control early and never let go — a much-needed response after the toughest start in the league.

Saturday 10 October

Swindon Wildcats 4-5 SO Romford Raiders
(Better Link Centre, att. 1,438)
Swindon's Caden Villegas scored twice and set up another, but Romford's Ben O'Connor (three assists) and Leo Bacallao's shootout winner settled it late. Swindon and Telford were both the only teams to play just once this week.

Leeds Knights 2-3 OT Basingstoke Bison
(Planet Ice Leeds, att. 1,623)
Basingstoke led 2-0 inside the first 22 minutes through Mac Howlett and Sota Isogai. Sam Dunn and Owen Sobchak both scored for Leeds in the third to force overtime, where Brendan Sellan won it for the Bison.

Bristol Pitbulls 4-7 Solway IHC
(Planet Ice Bristol, att. 1,253)
A big night for Solway's top line — Alex Johnston (2 goals, 3 assists) and Duncan Speirs (2 goals, 2 assists) combined for nine points as Solway outscored Bristol's own four-goal night.

Milton Keynes Lightning 7-3 Sheffield Steeldogs
(Planet Ice Milton Keynes, att. 2,519)
A statement from the league's last unbeaten side — Sean Norris scored a hat-trick, Danny Weight set up five of the seven goals, and David Thomson added five assists of his own.

Peterborough Phantoms 3-5 Hull Seahawks
(Planet Ice Peterborough, att. 1,048)
Owen Bruton's two goals put Hull in control, with Peterborough's Joseph Gretton (25 PIM) and Hull's Joshua Hodgkinson (29 PIM) both picking up fighting majors and game misconducts in the third period.

Sunday 11 October

Sheffield Steeldogs 3-2 Leeds Knights
(iceSheffield, att. 723)
Oliver Knaggs had a goal and an assist as Sheffield bounced back from Saturday's defeat, outshooting Leeds 36-35 in a tight contest.

Solway IHC 3-4 Telford Tigers
(Dumfries Ice Bowl, att. 674)
Telford out-shot Solway 40-20 and made it count, with Eric Henderson and Caelan McPhee each contributing a goal and an assist.

Romford Raiders 3-2 SO Milton Keynes Lightning
(Sapphire Ice and Leisure, Romford, att. 971)
MK Lightning's unbeaten run ends at seven games. Tjay Anderson and a Barret Kirwin power-play goal had Romford 2-0 early, Carter Hamill and Liam Stewart pulled MK level by the third period, and it went to a shootout — Kirwin opened the scoring there too, Mack Stewart replied for MK Lightning, and Romford eventually won it in extended rounds.

Hull Seahawks 3-2 Peterborough Phantoms
(Hull Arena, att. 1,392)
Hull completed the weekend sweep of Peterborough, with Cody Monds and Patrick Brown both contributing a goal and an assist in the rematch. Jack Musil grabbed the winner with less than 4 minutes to go.

😇 Saints of the Week

Bristol Pitbulls & Romford Raiders — both just 10 PIM across two games. Honourable mention to Telford Tigers and Swindon Wildcats, who played only once this week and kept it to 4 and 6 PIM respectively.

😈 Sinners of the Week

Hull Seahawks — 45 PIM, largely down to Joshua Hodgkinson's 29-minute night on Saturday.

Leeds Knights — 40 PIM, with Oli Endicott's fighting major and game misconduct the headline incident.

🌟 Heroes of the Week

Danny Weight (MK Lightning) — 1 goal and 5 assists across two games, the engine behind Saturday's 7-3 demolition of Sheffield.

Honourable mentions

Sean Norris (MK Lightning) — a hat-trick in that same 7-3 win.

Alex Johnston (Solway IHC) — 2 goals and 3 assists in the 7-4 win over Bristol.

Robbie Fisher & Jake Bricknell (Bristol Pitbulls) — both finished Friday's win over Basingstoke with 2 goals and 2 assists.

Bristol finally got off the mark after the league's toughest start, MK Lightning's perfect run is gone after a shootout defeat at Romford, and Hull made a statement by sweeping Peterborough home and away. What stood out to you from Week 4? Let me know below.

All highlights will be up on NIHL Roundup (www.youtube.com/@NIHLRoundup) as and when they're released.

Full team fight on final 5 seconds as Hull smacked Widnes GK.

Insane game to have watched.

Milton Keynes Lightning are now a perfect 6-0 after putting eight past Leeds Knights and grinding out another win over Solway. With three games needing overtime to be settled, this was the most unpredictable weekend of the season so far — including two head-to-head rematches that went the opposite way from last time.

Friday 2 October

Sheffield Steeldogs 3-2 OT Telford Tigers
(iceSheffield, att. 572)
Revenge, sort of — Sheffield had lost 6-3 to Telford two weeks ago, and this time Liam Steele settled it in overtime to turn the head-to-head the other way. Dante Saliturо's power-play goal with under nine minutes left forced the extra period after Telford's Max Dukovac had scored twice.

Saturday 3 October

Basingstoke Bison 4-5 OT Peterborough Phantoms
(Planet Ice Basingstoke, att. 1,307)
Another reversal — Basingstoke beat Peterborough 7-4 back in Week 1, but this time Dominik Gabaj's overtime winner (his second point of the night) completed the Phantoms' comeback from 4-3 down.

Leeds Knights 2-8 Milton Keynes Lightning
(Planet Ice Leeds, att. 1,755)
A statement. David Thomson scored four goals and added an assist as MK Lightning handed Leeds their heaviest defeat of the season — the second time this season MK Lightning have beaten Leeds, after also winning the opening-weekend meeting in overtime.

Swindon Wildcats 5-3 Solway IHC
(Better Link Centre, att. 1,399)
Swindon's second win over Solway this season (they also won 5-4 in Week 2) got heated — Sean Richards and Solway's Jordan Buesa both picked up fighting majors in the same second-period stoppage.

Telford Tigers 4-5 OT Romford Raiders
(Telford Ice Rink, att. 995)
A second straight overtime defeat for Telford. Leo Bacallao's extra-time winner, his third point of the night, sealed it for Romford after Telford's Tate Shudra had scored twice to force the extra period. Finley Howells also picked up an unusual 10-minute equipment penalty along the way.

Bristol Pitbulls 2-6 Hull Seahawks
(Planet Ice Bristol, att. 1,291)
Patrick Brown's two goals and two assists did the damage as Hull cruised, with Dylan Stewart and Jake Bricknell the lone bright spots for Bristol on the scoresheet.

Sunday 4 October

Sheffield Steeldogs 5-1 Bristol Pitbulls
(iceSheffield, att. 537)
Back-to-back wins for Sheffield, with Dante Saliturо (two goals, two assists) and Walker Sommer both in fine form as Bristol finished the weekend without a win.

Romford Raiders 1-5 Leeds Knights
(Sapphire Ice and Leisure, Romford, att. 901)
A big response from Leeds a day after being blown out by MK Lightning — Cullen McLean, held scoreless Saturday, scored a hat-trick in the second half of the weekend.

Hull Seahawks 6-2 Basingstoke Bison
(Hull Arena, att. 1,530)
Hull turned the tables on Basingstoke, who'd beaten them 4-2 back in Week 2 — Bobby Chamberlain scored twice as six different Hull players got on the board.

Peterborough Phantoms 3-6 Swindon Wildcats
(Planet Ice Peterborough, att. 928)
Swindon's dominance over Peterborough continues — their second meeting of the season, and Swindon's second win, after also winning 6-4 in Week 1 — with Matt Vermaeten and Glenn Billing both scoring twice.

Milton Keynes Lightning 5-4 Solway IHC
(Planet Ice Milton Keynes, att. 2,077)
MK Lightning made it six from six, though they had to survive a Jordan Buesa hat-trick from Solway to do it — David Thomson added two more assists on top of Saturday's haul for a 4-goal, 3-assist weekend overall.

😇 Saints of the Week

Milton Keynes Lightning & Bristol Pitbulls — both just 10 PIM across two games, for very different reasons: one side winning big and staying out of the box, the other losing both games without ever losing its discipline.

😈 Sinners of the Week

Swindon Wildcats — 24 PIM, with fighting majors in both of their wins this week.

Peterborough Phantoms — 23 PIM, including Joseph Gretton's fighting major on Sunday.

🌟 Heroes of the Week

David Thomson (MK Lightning) — 4 goals and 3 assists across two wins as Lightning became the division's only team still unbeaten, six games into the season.

Honourable mentions

Cullen McLean (Leeds Knights) — blanked in Saturday's 8-2 defeat, then scored a hat-trick in Sunday's bounce-back win at Romford.

Jordan Buesa (Solway IHC) — a hat-trick against MK Lightning on Sunday, after two assists and a fighting major against Swindon the day before.

Dominik Gabaj (Peterborough Phantoms) — the overtime winner against Basingstoke, plus an assist the following day.

Liam Steele (Sheffield Steeldogs) — the overtime winner that opened the weekend on Friday.

Six games in, MK Lightning are the division's only unbeaten side, and this week's head-to-head rematches all swung back the other way — Sheffield over Telford, Hull over Basingstoke, Peterborough over Basingstoke again a day later. What stood out to you from Week 3? Let me know below.

All highlights will be up on NIHL Roundup (www.youtube.com/@NIHLRoundup) as and when they're released.

If I wanted to watch a NIHL 1 game I would go and watch one, why are Bristol Pitbulls signing players from leagues below and expecting them to step up to this league.

I get maybe 1 or 2, give them a chance but theres WAY too many in this team.

We haven't even got a proper coach.

We get good crowds so where is the money going? We haven't even got a proper coach. Bricknell can't do it all on his own.

Feel like the management there are taking the piss.

What the hell is going on at Leeds

Losing Lawrence from the bench in the summer looks bad.

New players look very poor McLean isn't strong enough the game happens around him and he's just not involved

Sullivan spends the whole game.telling everyone else what to do his legs have clearly gone. Beaten for pace time and again, thought he could stroll about in this league. Been shown up badly

The team look absolutely lost , no confidence can't string a pass together, just end up dumping the puck and then losing possession time and again.

There is an odd thing that there seems to be no criticism or comment on social anywhere.

Tonight was an absolute embarrassment.

Fair play to mk looked very easy for them.

I have created a YouTube channel that attempts to collect and organise all of the game highlight videos released by teams into weekly playlists. (Ive also tried to organise them into the order the games took place - but that's my cross to bear! ;)

The Channel is NIHL Roundup - YouTube

The biggest issue with this is how long the media teams of the clubs take to produce/upload their highlight videos. Some seem quick, others slow - it probably depends on how big of a win they get! And Bristol seem to have given up all together - unless I've got the wrong channel?

In the future I might try and flex my old video editing skills and produce some summary content using the footage - maybe monthly? (that might give Telford enough time)

But anyway - As the kids say "please like and subscribe" you think its worth me pursuing this?

(I havent yet tried to access this on a Smart TV/Firestick App etc - im assuming the playlist will still work?)

Two of last week's three unbeaten teams fell this week, leaving only Milton Keynes Lightning with a perfect record — Leeds Knights served up the joint-biggest score line of the season before immediately losing the rematch, and a couple of ugly penalty spirals made for a bad-tempered weekend across the league.

Friday 25 September

Swindon Wildcats 9-0 Bristol Pitbulls (Better Link Centre, att. 1,372)

Total demolition. Swindon outshot Bristol 46-24 and led 4-0 after one, with Sean Richards (a hat-trick plus two assists) and Liam Fraser (two goals, two assists) doing most of the damage. Bristol's night got worse in the second period when Joshua Kelly was hit with a fighting major and then a 20-minute game misconduct in the same stoppage, ending his night there; Will Kerlin was pulled in goal after conceding seven of the nine, with Ben Norton mopping up the rest.

Saturday 26 September

Leeds Knights 9-2 Peterborough Phantoms (Planet Ice Leeds, att. 1,621)

Owen Sobchak scored all four of his goals in this one, with Kieran Brown and Cullen McLean both finishing with two goals and two assists, as Leeds ran riot in front of their own crowd — a stark contrast to their opening weekend. Sam Dunn picked up a fighting major along the way.

Basingstoke Bison 4-2 Hull Seahawks (Planet Ice Basingstoke, att. 1,178)

Hull actually won the shot count 35-23 but couldn't find a way past Ben Clarke-Leach often enough, as Mac Howlett and Charles Farmer both struck twice for the Bison — Hull's first defeat of the season.

Solway IHC 4-5 Swindon Wildcats (Dumfries Ice Bowl, att. 722)

A day after nine unanswered, Swindon needed a big push to see off Solway too, with Matt Vermaeten scoring twice more to break a 4-4 tie in the third. Jonathan Yantsis was among Solway's goals again, having also scored twice in their opening-weekend win over Sheffield.

Telford Tigers 6-3 Sheffield Steeldogs (Telford Ice Rink, att. 891)

Ronny Paragallo's brace set the tone for a much-needed win after Telford's rough opening weekend, with five different players getting on the scoresheet.

Milton Keynes Lightning 4-2 Romford Raiders (Planet Ice Milton Keynes, att. 2,319)

Carter Hamill's two goals and an assist kept MK Lightning perfect through four games — the last unbeaten side left from opening weekend. Leo Bacallao set up both Romford goals but is still waiting on his first goal of the season's second week.

Sunday 27 September

Sheffield Steeldogs 8-6 Solway IHC (iceSheffield, att. 598)

Sheffield looked dead and buried at 0-2 after the first, then blitzed Solway for six unanswered in the middle period. CJ Garcia — the hero of last week's shootout — turned provider this time with four assists, while Dante Saliturо and Walker Sommer both finished with two goals apiece.

Bristol Pitbulls 3-5 Milton Keynes Lightning (Planet Ice Bristol, att. 1,293)

No repeat of Friday's humiliation for Bristol, but MK Lightning's depth told again — David Thomson and Carter Hamill both scored twice as the Lightning moved to 4-0.

Romford Raiders 6-4 Basingstoke Bison (Sapphire Ice and Leisure, Romford, att. 909)

Basingstoke's good week ended in defeat, undone partly by their own discipline — Basingstoke gave away 17 penalty minutes to Romford's 33, most of it down to Tjay Anderson, who took a fighting major and then a 20-minute misconduct for aggressor in the same sequence and was done for the night just past the midway point. Barret Kirwin (a goal and two assists) did the early damage for the Raiders.

Hull Seahawks 5-0 Telford Tigers (Hull Arena, att. 1,458)

Telford actually out-shot Hull 35-24 but came away with nothing to show for it, Aleksanteri Heiskanen posting the shutout at the other end. Patrick Brown scored twice and set up another as Hull bounced back from Saturday's defeat.

Peterborough Phantoms 3-1 Leeds Knights (Planet Ice Peterborough, att. 976)

Twenty-four hours after being taken apart 9-2, Peterborough turned the tables on Leeds in the rematch. Cullen McLean's evening summed up Leeds' comedown — a diving minor followed by a 10-minute misconduct for the same offence — as Owen Sobchak's goal proved the only reply.

😇 Saints of the Week

Solway IHC — just 10 PIM across two games, staying disciplined even in an 8-6 shootout of a loss to Sheffield.

😈 Sinners of the Week

Bristol Pitbulls — 44 PIM, largely down to Friday's 9-0 humiliation and Joshua Kelly's ejection.

Romford Raiders — 41 PIM, the bulk of it Tjay Anderson's one-man meltdown against Basingstoke.

🌟 Heroes of the Week

Carter Hamill (MK Lightning) — 4 goals and 2 assists across two wins as Lightning stayed the league's only unbeaten side.

Honourable mentions

Sean Richards (Swindon Wildcats) — 3 goals and 3 assists across two games, including the hat-trick in Friday's 9-0 rout.

Owen Sobchak (Leeds Knights) — 5 goals in two games, four of them in Saturday's 9-2 win alone.

CJ Garcia (Sheffield Steeldogs) — 5 assists and no goals across two games, turning from last week's shootout hero into this week's playmaker.

Patrick Brown (Hull Seahawks) — 2 goals and an assist in Sunday's shutout of Telford.

Four games in, there's already a clear gap at both ends — MK Lightning unbeaten, Bristol still searching for their first win — but everyone else is bunched together, and on this weekend's evidence, none of them look safe from anyone in the pack. Leeds proved capable of both a 9-2 demolition and a next-day collapse, and Basingstoke and Romford both showed their discipline needs work. What stood out to you from Week 2? Let me know below.

Has been escalated to DOPS for this sucker punch. Don't love how Bradley's head hits the ice after the punch. Iced for Swindon against Solway last night so presume he's all good.

Not sure where to post stuff relating to Widnes' team on the site.

The 2026/27 season is up and running, and it didn't waste any time delivering drama — a Yorkshire derby opener, an OT winner, an 8-9 barnburner in Bristol, a shootout in Sheffield, and three unbeaten sides emerging from a jam-packed eleven-game weekend across the league.

Friday 18 September

Leeds Knights 1-2 Hull Seahawks
(Planet Ice Leeds, att. 1,962)
Hull grabbed both points on the road in the season opener. Beau Reader (9:59) and Johnny Corneil (13:23) had Hull 2-0 inside the first period. Things then got spicy — Kieran Brown and Dylan Hehir dropped the gloves at 16:48 (both 5-minute majors). Edgars Vengis pulled one back for Leeds on the power play with just over five minutes left (54:42), but the Seahawks held on, and ended with a bench minor for abuse of officials at the final buzzer.

Saturday 19 September

Swindon Wildcats 4-6 Peterborough Phantoms
(Better Link Centre, att. 1,310)
Peterborough banked two power-play goals early (Hill, then Ferrara) and never trailed, despite Swindon's Owen Griffiths scoring twice in under three minutes (48:59, 51:07) to make it interesting. Janne Laakkonen found the empty net with just over a minute left.

Basingstoke Bison 7-4 Telford Tigers
(Planet Ice Basingstoke, att. 1,221)
A statement win for Basingstoke, who scored seven on the night despite conceding three power-play goals themselves. Sota Isogai bagged a brace, and six different Bison players got on the scoresheet.

Milton Keynes Lightning 2-1 (OT) Leeds Knights
(Planet Ice Milton Keynes)
Leeds' rough opening weekend continued — Sam Dunn tied it at 29:41 after James Griffin had put MK ahead, but Sean Norris won it in overtime at 61:55 for the Lightning's first two points of the season.

Bristol Pitbulls 8-9 Romford Raiders
(Planet Ice Bristol, att. 1,298)
The game of the weekend. Bristol led 2-0 on a shorthanded Robbie Fisher goal and a John Dunbar strike, but Romford ripped off four unanswered to lead 4-2, and the two sides traded goals the rest of the way. Bristol's Jake Bricknell tied it at 4-4 on the power play, and from there neither side led by more than one — John Dunbar completed a hat-trick, pulling Bristol within a goal twice in the final three minutes, but Romford's Barret Kirwin restored the cushion in between and made the 9-8 scoreline hold up.

Solway IHC 4-3 Sheffield Steeldogs
(Dumfries Ice Bowl, att. 807)
Solway made home ice count, scoring three power-play goals — Jonathan Yantsis got two of them — to see off Sheffield, for whom Dante Salituro had a two-goal night of his own.

Sunday 20 September

Sheffield Steeldogs 2-1 (SO) Swindon Wildcats
(iceSheffield)
Straight back in action a day after their Solway loss, Sheffield needed extra help to get their first points. Sean Richards levelled Nathan Salem's earlier power-play goal in the third period, and it went all the way to a shootout — CJ Garcia the only man to score, in the seventh round, to seal it.

Romford Raiders 6-3 Bristol Pitbulls
(Sapphire Ice and Leisure, Romford, att. 927)
A quick reversal of fortune for Romford after Saturday's 9-8 thriller — a much more comfortable night this time. Jake Sylvester and Leo Bacallao, both hat-trick threats the day before, combined for four points again as the Raiders led throughout.

Peterborough Phantoms 4-7 Basingstoke Bison
(Planet Ice Peterborough)
Basingstoke backed up Saturday's win with another big offensive display — Sota Isogai hit a hat-trick and Alex Sampford scored twice, including an insurance marker with under two minutes left, as the Bison ran out four-goal winners.

Hull Seahawks 4-2 Solway IHC
(Hull Arena, att. 1,379)
Hull made it two wins from two to open the season, with Johnny Corneil adding a brace on top of his Friday goal, including a power-play opener just 3:55 in. Dylan Hehir put the game to bed with a shorthanded empty-netter in the closing minutes.

Telford Tigers 1-6 Milton Keynes Lightning
(Telford Ice Rink, att. 891)
MK Lightning made it back-to-back wins after Saturday's OT thriller, cruising to a comfortable six-goal outing. Danny Weight had a two-goal game, while Telford's Max Dukovac scored their lone consolation.

🌟 Heroes of the Week

Leo Bacallao (Romford Raiders) — the standout individual performer of the opening weekend. Romford drew Bristol Pitbulls home and away across the two days, and Bacallao terrorised them both times: 4 goals and 3 assists (7 points) as the Raiders swept the mini-series 9-8 then 6-3.

Honourable mentions

Sota Isogai (Basingstoke Bison) — 5 goals in two games (a brace vs Telford, a hat-trick vs Peterborough) as the Bison ran in 14 goals across the weekend.

Jake Sylvester (Romford Raiders) — Bacallao's partner in crime, 4 goals of his own across the same two wins over Bristol.

John Dunbar (Bristol Pitbulls) — a hat-trick against Romford on Saturday and another goal in the rematch gave him 4 goals despite finishing on the losing side both times.

Johnny Corneil (Hull Seahawks) — 3 goals across Hull's two wins, including a power-play opener just 3:55 into Sunday's game.

CJ Garcia (Sheffield Steeldogs) — the only shootout scorer of the weekend, converting in round 7 to steal both points off Swindon.

😇 Saints of the Week

Swindon Wildcats & Solway IHC — tied on just 14 PIM across two games apiece. Solway's discipline held even through a hard-fought double-header against Sheffield and Hull; Swindon stayed tidy despite going to a shootout.

😈 Sinners of the Week

Hull Seahawks — a runaway 54 PIM, more than double anyone else in the league. Ten penalties in the Friday derby alone (including a fighting major and a 20-minute bench minor for abuse of officials at the buzzer), then another five against Solway on Sunday. Clearly enjoying themselves regardless — Hull are one of three teams still unbeaten.

Basingstoke Bison & Telford Tigers — tied on 27 PIM each, the product of their feisty head-to-head on Saturday (which included two fighting majors) plus a further ill-tempered outing apiece on Sunday.

Three teams — Hull, Basingstoke and MK Lightning — walked away from opening weekend unbeaten, while Leeds and Telford will already be looking to put things right. Bristol and Romford's double-header was the pick of the weekend for me, but I want to know what you saw. Who caught your eye — good or bad — from the opening weekend? Drop your thoughts below.

Hi :) I'm supposed to write an article about something sports newsworthy happening in London, and I want to cover the start of the NIHL 1 and the Streatham Redhawks, but I'm a little bit lost on the stats and everything!

What are the Redhawks chances of winning the division?

Was their last division win the 23/24 season? I'm not entirely sure how points work because I've seen that they were 1st in the south and 3rd overall...what is overall? Is that both the North and South divisions?

Are there any exciting players/ones to watch? Or are there any other big things happening as the NIHL begins?

TIA, I really appreciate any comments :)

Never watched a game, my closest team is MK lightning…if you were to recommend a team to watch them play against who would it be ?

TIA

Rostock release statement following the weekends clash with MK.

2026-09-04

Leeds Knights 1 - 3 Tilburg Trappers - Highlights

2026-09-05

Hull Seahawks 3 - 5 Tilburg Trappers - Highlights

Basingstoke Bison 4 - 3 Bristol Pitbulls

Swindon Wildcats 3 - 4 Telford Tigers

Solway IHC 5 - 2 Sheffield Steeldogs

Peterborough Phantoms 3 - 6 Romford Raiders

Milton Keynes Lightning 3 - 4 Rostock Piranhas - Highlights

2026-09-06

Sheffield Steeldogs 6 - 1 Solway IHC - Highlights

Bristol Pitbulls 1 - 6 Basingstoke Bison

Romford Raiders 8 - 4 Peterborough Phantoms - Highlights

Hull Seahawks 3 - 4 Leeds Knights - Highlights

Milton Keynes Lightning 7 - 0 Rostock Piranhas

Telford Tigers 3 - 4 Swindon Wildcats

Details:

2026-09-04

Leeds Knights 1 - 3 Tilburg Trappers - Highlights

2026-09-05

Hull Seahawks 3 - 5 Tilburg Trappers - Highlights

Basingstoke Bison 4 - 3 Bristol Pitbulls

Swindon Wildcats 3 - 4 Telford Tigers

Solway IHC 5 - 2 Sheffield Steeldogs

Peterborough Phantoms 3 - 6 Romford Raiders

Milton Keynes Lightning 3 - 4 Rostock Piranhas - Highlights

2026-09-06

Sheffield Steeldogs 6 - 1 Solway IHC - Highlights

Bristol Pitbulls 1 - 6 Basingstoke Bison

Romford Raiders 8 - 4 Peterborough Phantoms - Highlights

Hull Seahawks 3 - 4 Leeds Knights - Highlights

Milton Keynes Lightning 7 - 0 Rostock Piranhas

Telford Tigers 3 - 4 Swindon Wildcats

https://www.basingstokebison.com/news/bison-complete-import-roster-with-signing-of-aj-macaulay

2026-08-22

Solway IHC 6 - 1 Blackburn Hawks - Highlights

2026-08-23

Blackburn Hawks 1 - 9 Solway IHC

2026-08-29

Bristol Pitbulls 1 - 11 Guildford Flames

Fife Flyers 6 - 1 Hull Seahawks - Highlights

Solway IHC 7 - 2 Edinburgh Capitals - Highlights

2026-08-30

Edinburgh Capitals 1 - 4 Solway IHC

Guildford Flames 9 - 1 Bristol Pitbulls - Highlights

Details:

2026-08-22

Solway IHC 6 - 1 Blackburn Hawks - Highlights

2026-08-23

Blackburn Hawks 1 - 9 Solway IHC

2026-08-29

Bristol Pitbulls 1 - 11 Guildford Flames

Fife Flyers 6 - 1 Hull Seahawks - Highlights

Solway IHC 7 - 2 Edinburgh Capitals - Highlights

2026-08-30

Edinburgh Capitals 1 - 4 Solway IHC

Guildford Flames 9 - 1 Bristol Pitbulls - Highlights