LEEDS KNIGHTS produced the perfect ending to their 2-025-26 season when they staged a dramatic late comeback to beat Yorkshire rivals Hull Seahawks to clinch the NIHL National play-off crown. 


Trailing 3-2 with just under five minutes to go, the Knights left their derby opponents stunned when they scored twice in the space of 67 seconds to regain a lead they had held twice previously during the game, only to be pegged back by Hull. 


It was Edgars Vengis who provided the sweet finishing touch for the equalising goal at 55.36, benefiting from a pinpoint pass off Balint Pakozdi from the right circle. 


But before the Seahawks could rally themselves, the Knights struck again, Pakozdi again the provider when he found Liam Peyton free approaching the net and with time to lift the puck past Aleksanteri Heiskanen and into the roof of the net. 


As Hull clambered to somehow find a way back, they pulled their netminder with 96 seconds remaining, only to pay the price when, following some strong forechecking from Matt Bissonnette the puck broke free inside the Seahawks’ zone allowing captain Kieran Brown to fire into an empty net. 


Earlier, the Knights had got off to the perfect start when a face-off win by Vengis, allowed Brown to switch play to Sam Dunn in the right circle. 


His shot through traffic was saved but the puck broke loose and on to the stick of a grateful Bissonnette who poked it into the empty net for a 1-0 lead after just 19 seconds. 


Hull were quick to respond, though, Emil Svec firing home at 1.46 to make it 1-Leeds then regained the lead when making the most of a 5-on-3 power play opportunity with Hull’s Thomas Stubley and Johnny Corneil (slashing) and then Thomas Stubley (hooking)  in the box. 


Stubley had only been sat down for four seconds before the Knights struck, the puck again breaking free close in where Peyton was on hand to tap home for a 2-1 lead at 12.38. 


Again it wasn’t long before Hull were level, Ethan Hehir setting up Stubley who, rampaging through centre ice showed good hands before back-handing past Sam Gospel to make it 2-2 at 16.26. 


A quiet second period looked like ensuring the teams would go in still tied at 2-2 until the Seahawks made the most of their own power play opportunity. 


With Finley Bradon in the box for a hooking call, Corneil found captain Bobby Chamberlain in space in the right circle from where he fired past Gospel to put Hull in front for the first time with 17 seconds of the period remaining. 


The third period was again short on Grade A chances at either end, the clearest opportunity falling to Stallard who was denied by Gospel when well-placed 10 yards out in the 54th minute. 


It was then that the Knights staged their memorable comeback, one that left the hundreds of loyal fans cheering long into the night.


The Knights had got there courtesy of a similarly competitive Yorkshire derby 24 hours earlier against Sheffield Steeldogs. 


The Knights - short-benched once again and looking to avenge their National Cup final loss to Slava Koulikov’s team last month - got off to the worst possible start when Jonathan Kirk’s long-range blast from the left boards eluded Gospel through traffic just 36 seconds in. 


It wasn’t long before the Knights restored parity, though, Brown rounding the net before circling to centre ice and unleashing a shot which cannoned up off Dmitri Zimozdra’s blocker before falling behind him and over the line at 6.45. 


Another period brought another poor start from the Knights, with Steeldogs’ Liam Steele allowed to skate almost the length of the ice before beating Gospel with a sublime finish at 20.50. 


It was just after the halfway mark when the Knights pulled level for a second time, making the most of a power play opportunity, Dunn finding Brown on the edge of the right circle, from where he took a couple of steps and produced a precision finish over the left shoulder of Zimozdra at his near post and into the roof of the net at 31.25. 


The next goal was always likely to be crucial and so it proved, a period of sustained pressure from the Knights paying off when Sam Cooper’s blast from the blue line could only be parried by Zimozdra into the path of Bissonnette who applied the finishing touch to force it over the line for a 3-2 lead at 47.42. 


The Knights then produced another sustained rearguard action to keep the Steeldogs from drawing level to book their place in the final.