LANCASHIRE, UK – The top four sides in Laidler D2 do battle this weekend as the NIHL2 North play-offs take place at Widnes Ice Rink.
League champions Sutton Sting play Telford Tigers 2 in the first semi-final on Saturday (face-off 4.30pm), with Widnes Wild meeting Hull Jets in the second semi-final (face-off 7.30pm).
The winners of the two semi-finals meet in the final the following day (face-off 5.30pm).
We take a look at each of the four teams and how they match-up to their fellow finalists.
Sutton Sting
Despite winning the regular season title, Sutton won just six of their 12 games against the other three sides. Sting swept their series with Hull Jets, but they were beaten three out of four times against both Widnes and Telford.
There was never more than one goal between Sting and the Tigers in their four meetings, a statistic that suggests there will be little to choose between the two sides in Saturday’s first semi-final.
One to watch: Stanislav Lascek – P15, G21, A32.
Widnes Wild
Widnes won nine out 12 matches against the other top four sides, but they dropped silly points against teams further down the table to once again miss out on promotion to D1.
Wild racked up three out of four victories from each of their series against their play-off rivals and they will fancy their chances of winning the end-of-season showdown for the second year in a row.
One to watch: Ollie Barron – P33, G43, A39.
Hull Jets
Hull lost eight out of 12 games against the other trio and that record cost them their chance of winning the Laidler D2 title.
However, the Jets went on a run of 23 wins out of 26 matches between the end of October to early March and it would be foolish to underestimate them this weekend.
Their total of 243 goals this season was the second best in the division, just four behind Telford, and they have the firepower to make their mark at the play-offs.
One to watch: Richard Haggar – P34, G72, A56.
Telford Tigers 2
Telford won five of their 12 meetings with their fellow play-off hopefuls during the regular season, but three of those came against their semi-final opponents Sutton.
If Telford can keep Lascek in check they have enough strength in depth to make it through to the final, although the Slovakian smashed a hat-trick past the Tigers when the two sides met during early March.
One to watch: Callum Bowley – P36, G48, A56
WEEKEND FIXTURES
Saturday
NIHL2 play-off semi-finals
Sutton Sting v Telford Tigers 2
Widnes Wild v Hull Jets
Sunday
NIHL National Cup final 2nd leg
Swindon Wildcats (2) v Sheffield Steeldogs (2)
NIHL2 play-off final
Sutton Sting/Telford Tigers 2 v Widnes Wild/Hull Jets
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