THERE was to be no treble for Leeds Knights but they played their part in a pulsating NIHL National Play-off Semi-final against Milton Keynes Lightning, only to be edged out 5-4 in overtime at Coventry’s SkyDome Arena.
The Lightning would deservedly go on to win the play-offs with a 6-1 win over Peterborough Phantoms in the following day’s final but, despite the disappointment of ending the 2024-25 season on a loss, there was still much to celebrate for the Knights in another brilliant campaign - one that saw them capture a third straight regular season league title as well as a first ever NIHL National Cup.
There were plenty of tears at the SkyDome, not least for Matt Haywood, for who the encounter with Milton Keynes marked his last-ever game before heading off into retirement.
But there were also plenty of cheers from a vociferous Knights’ support fully behind their team as they once again went toe-to-toe all the way until the very end with the Lightning.
It was Lightning who got themselves ahead early through Jordan Cownie, who fired into the top left-hand corner of Sam Gospel’s net from the left circle with just 6.40 on the clock.
But the Knights were not trailing for long, quickly making full use of their first power play of the night less than two minutes later when Matt Barron beat Jordan Hedley at 8.18 after Patrik Forsberg had been sent to the box just nine seconds earlier.
The man advantage came into play again later in the period, only this time hurting the Knights when, with Jordan Griffin sat for roughing, Dillon Lawrence fired through traffic and past Gospel at 16.25.
Leeds were level again when Bow Neely scored from a similar position to Lawrence in the 25th minute past the unsighted Hedley but they were to find themselves with their backs against the wall after Ross Venus’s exquisite strike on the turn from a tight angle at 36.59 made it 4-2 to the Lightning, Mack Stewart having already put his team in front for the first time from close range just after the halfway mark.
But the Knights were quick to get back within one when Haywood was first to pounce on a save made by Hedley off Oli Endicott to fire the rebound into the unguarded net at 38.03.
It looked like that was as close as the Knights would get with clear chances hard to come by in the third, Matt Bissonnette and Matt Haywood both going close from tight angles before Barron cannoned a rocket of a shot off the crossbar.
But, as the clock ticked down and with Gospel pulled, captain Kieran Brown, almost out of nowhere, showed perfect timing when he fired through traffic and past Hedley with just nine seconds remaining on the clock, causing wild scenes of celebration in the Knights section of the crowd.
A 10-minute overtime period then followed in which the killer blow arrived just after the halfway mark, Lawrence, forcing his way through on net and rounding Gospel before poking the puck home to leave the Knights fans stunned as their team were denied a third straight play-off final appearance in the most dramatic of ways.
