The Leeds Knights endured a contrasting weekend, with a difficult night at home against MK Lightning, followed by strong away victory over the Romford Raiders
Knights 2–8 Lightning
The Knights suffered an 8-2 defeat to MK Lightning at home on Saturday night at The Castle.
Leeds did find the net twice, with Liam Peyton scoring both goals. His first came at 6:43 of the second period, assisted by Balint Pakozdi and Owen Sobchak, before he struck again at 24:33, with Sobchak providing the assist.
However, Milton Keynes established control of the game with a series of goals. Liam Stewart scored short-handed late in the first period to put the visitors ahead.
The Lightning then added further goals through David Thomson, Sean Norris and Danny Weight, with Thomson completing a hat-trick during the contest. Norris also scored twice, while the visitors added two further goals late in the game to complete an 8–2 victory.
Despite the disappointing home result, Peyton's two goals provided a positive individual contribution, and attention was turned to Sunday night’s away game.
Raiders 1–5 Knights
On Sunday night, the Knights travelled to face the Romford Raiders and came away with a convincing 5–1 victory.
Leeds made a fast start to the scoring, with Cullen McLean opening the scoring at 4:18, assisted by Matt Bissonnetteand Edgars Vengis.
The Knights continued to build their advantage in the second period. Zach Sullivan made it 2–0 at 6:30 – his first Knights goal - with Owen Sobchak and Kieran Brown providing the assists. Liam Peyton then added a third at 14:38, assisted by Kieran Brown and Sam Gospel, giving Leeds a three-goal cushion.
Romford pulled one back early in the third period through Andrew Coxhead at 45:31, but the Knights responded strongly. Cullen McLean struck for his second of the night at 51:35, assisted by Bowdyn Neely and Matthew Bissonnette, before McLean completed his hat-trick with an empty-net goal at 58:33, assisted by Bissonnette.
The 5–1 win gave Leeds a positive end to the weekend, with McLean's hat-trick and a five-goal offensive display highlighting an impressive team performance.
