LEEDS KNIGHTS produced a superb performance to book their place in the NIHL National Cup Final after coming from behind to beat derby rivals Sheffield Steeldogs.
Tied 2-2 after the first leg at The Castle on December 20, there was everything to play for when the teams met for the deciding encounter at Ice Sheffield on New Year’s Eve.
But the Knights had to do it the hard way, coming from 2-0 down in the first period to run out 5-2 winners, giving them an aggregate 7-4 triumph.
They will now meet Romford Raiders in the two-legged final, with the dates of both games to be confirmed.
The win in South Yorkshire was the perfect way to end the year for Ryan Aldridge’s team.
In front of a sellout crowd, they came under pressure from the Steeldogs in the first period and it was the hosts that took the lead when Jonathan Phillips broke free down the middle and beat Sam Gospel at 7.10.
It got worse for the Knights when the puck broke kindly in front of the net for Walker Sommer to fire home at 15.55 and send the home crowd delirious.
Crucially, though, the Knights hit back within two minutes, Matt Bissonnette teeing up Dylan Hehir to fire through traffic and past Ben Norton to make it 2-1 at 17.51.
A power play opportunity presented itself before the intermission and the Knights made it count - just - a face-off win in the left circle presenting Fin Bradon with an opportunity to hit the back of the net from close range with just one second of the period remaining.
The Knights then got ahead for the first time in the game just after the halfway mark when a face-off win by Bradon saw Oli Endicott fire a blistering shot through traffic and past the unsighted Norton.
The Steeldogs kept pushing throughout in a pulsating encounter but they came up against a resolute Sam Gospel in goal, the Knights No 1 turning away all but two of the 53 shots on his net throughout the 60 minutes.
His form was to prove vital and the Knights made it count when they doubled their lead in the third, a Matt Barron face-off win in the right circle allowing captain Kieran Brown to hit a one-timer past Norton at 47.42.
As the Steeldogs chased the game, they were handed a late power play opportunity after a slashing call on Jordan Griffin with just under three minutes left.
The hosts also pulled Norton from his net to give them a 6-on-4 advantage, but when their play broke down on the edge of the Knights zone, the puck fell to Matt Haywood who stroked it into the empty net from the halfway line with 71 seconds remaining, the huge travelling support of the Knights fans cheering long before it reached its intended target and looking forward to battling for silverware across two nights with the Raiders in the coming weeks.
