Leeds Knights, the last NIHL National team to lose their perfect record, suffered a 5-3 loss to the Milton Keynes Lightning on Saturday night. In less than 24 hours, the two teams clashed again, this time at the Elland Road Ice Arena. The Knights, clearly motivated by the previous night’s setback, secured a commanding 9-1 victory, allowing them to maintain their position at the top of the standings after six games, albeit narrowly.
Captain Kieran Brown played a pivotal role for his team over the weekend, achieving personal milestones. He netted a hat-trick on home ice, adding to the goal he scored in Milton Keynes. His assist on Josh Adkins’ opening goal in the previous matchup marked his 300th career point for the Knights. In the reverse fixture, Brown’s first goal, a power play marker in the seventh minute, brought him his 150th goal for the club.
The scoring frenzy for the Knights began when Brown’s goal set the tone, and they found themselves with a commanding 3-0 lead in the first 20 minutes thanks to additional goals from Lewis Baldwin and Josh Adkins, who had already scored twice the previous night. Brown secured his second goal and the Knights’ fourth just after the halfway mark of the game. The third period witnessed five more goals, with contributions from Oli Endicott, Matt Barron, Matt Haywood, Mac Howlett, and finally, Brown completing his hat-trick. However, the Knights missed out on a shutout as Cameron Hamill got the visitors on the scoreboard at 53.07.
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