The Morley Glass Leeds Knights have been flying high this week, following a successful title defence that saw the team be crowned Planet Ice NIHL National Division League Champions for the second season running!
Winning the league once is tricky enough, but the Elland Road based side have proven to be a formidable one, that the other 10 teams in the league have struggled to dethrone over the last two seasons. In addition to this, the success of a club so early in its infancy is something even more special, having been crowned league champions in just third 2nd and 3rd season of their existence!
Head Coach Ryan Aldridge was quick to acknowledge the people that made this possible, both on the ice as well as off the ice – “From fans to families, it’s nice to be able to re-pay them for what they’ve done for us. It’s hard to win [this division] and we’ve done it two years in a row, which shows the character of the youngest group in the league. It’s a hard league. The boys have done it tough at times, but they’ve always found a way to win.”
“Tonight (Sunday) was no different. After the first period where we weren’t good, they had a pretty direct talking-to, and the response was unbelievable. They deserve what they’re getting.”
Every player had their moment with the highly sought after silverware on Sunday night, with the celebrations being in full-swing at The Castle. The feeling was even sweeter than last year, with the team getting to win in front of a packed out Castle and share some amazing moments with the amazing fans that have supported them throughout the year.
Despite the want to prolong the celebrations in what is the highest high… the season isn’t over yet, with a double-header against the Sheffield Steeldogs coming up this weekend, followed by a visit from the Solway Sharks next Friday and a trip to Hull on Sunday, the Knights have got a few more games to complete before the regular season officially comes to a close – and then it’s Playoffs time!
The Playoffs will be here before we know it, with a new format that will see the Knights have 3 home and 3 away games throughout April against the teams that finish 4th, 5th and 8th in the league standings. That means currently they’d be taking on Yorkshire Rivals Hull Seahawks, the Peterborough Phantoms who the Knights beat on all 6 occasions of meeting this season and their most recent opponents that they bested 6-3 on Sunday night, Bees IHC.
You can get tickets to the remaining regular season games here, with the Playoff dates to be confirmed ASAP.
