IT’S two wins out of two for Deeside Dragons to open their campaign, but they had to work hard for their triumph against Leeds Knights.
The battling visitors were ahead early on, but Deeside hit back to make sure of a 7-4 triumph.
Leeds Knights opened the scoring in this game with a goal in the fourth minute and it took until the 16th minute for Deeside to draw level through a Ryan Jones strike.
Two minutes later, the Dragons were ahead courtesy of a Rhys Edwards goal and the score remained 2-1 at the first period break.
Deeside edged further ahead with a goal from Jake Witkowski just 26 seconds into the second period and the same player scored again on 26 minutes to give the Dragons a 4-1 lead.
Further goals followed - from Theo Malone and Colin Cromie – but two more for the Knights left the score at 6-3 at the second interval
The third period played out goalless for its first 18 minutes until Witkowski scored his hat-trick goal.
The game was clearly won by this point but Leeds didn’t give up and their efforts were rewarded with a fourth goal with 47 seconds left on the clock.
It’s been some start to the campaign from Witkowski, who has already scored nine goals this season. His hat-trick followed a six-goal haul during Deeside’s opening weekend 12-2 success against Sheffield Scimitars.
Following the weekend games, Deeside sit in fifth place in the Moralee Division table with six points from their two wins to date and they are playing catch up as all of the other teams have played more games.
Solihull Barons currently top the table with 10 points from four games, with Widnes Wild in second and Blackburn Hawks in third – both on eight points.
Other results: Billingham 7 Hull 5; Nottingham 2 Blackburn 3; Solihull 5 Widnes 6 (overtime); Leeds 2 Widnes 5; Sheffield 4 Solihull 9; Telford 10 Nottingham 6.
Deeside Dragons Girls U16s opened their season with a 3-3 draw in their home clash against with Leeds at Deeside Leisure Centre.
There was an ideal opening to the contest from the perspective of the Dragons, who were able to race into a 3-0 lead in the first period.
Niamh Walsh came up with two of the goals to put Deeside into the box seat, while Ella Mitchell was also on the scoresheet.
The home side couldn’t relax, though, as Leeds pegged them back in the second period to level things up at 3-3.
Bucking the trend in the match, there then followed a goal-less third period, which ensured that it ended in a 3-3 draw.
Lucy Kolisek was named MVP for the Dragons and Savannah Morgan earned the accolade of the hardest worker.
Leeds top the table after their two matches so far, while Deeside sit in third spot in the nine-team division.
Due to a somewhat unbalanced fixture list, Dragons’ under-16 girls now play a number of away games in a row.
Altrincham is their next port of call on October 4 for a match against Manchester Storm.
They then face six more away trips before their next home game, which will take place on Saturday, March 13, 2027 when they entertain the Caledonia Iron Maidens at Deeside Leisure Centre.
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