WIDNES Wild had a disappointing weekend ahead of their trip to Sheffield to contest the NIHL Play-offs next weekend.

Wild will attempt to win the first trophy in their short history in South Yorkshire but rounded off their cup campaign with a 5-1 defeat to Solway Sharks in Scotland before returning home to lose 7-1 to a rampant Billingham Stars.

Despite the adverse results over the weekend, Wild player-coach Scott McKenzie remains optimistic ahead of the challenge ahead in Sheffield.

“Playoff weekend no matter what league you are in is always an exciting time for the players as well as the fans, no matter what league you are in,” he said.

“There will be some great hockey played in both Laidler and Moralee Conferences and as a club we are thrilled to be a part of it.

“It has been a long season but the guys are ready and know what is expected of them, we will do everything we can to return to Widnes as playoff champions.”

Saturday saw the Wild travel to Scotland with no official league goalie, meaning the Wild would have the services of Ian Thirkettle, netminder for recreational team Widnes Wildcats.

The game started at a frantic pace, with Wild making the breakthrough with a George Crayshaw solo effort after breaking through the defence and firing into the top corner. The period would end 1-0 to the visitors.

Even though the Wild would outshoot the Sharks in the 2nd period, two quick goals would turn the game on its head giving the home side a 2-1 advantage. Three further goals in the 3rd period would kill off any hope that the Wild had but a gutsy performance none the less.

McKenzie was pleased with his side’s performance despite the result.

“I was extremely happy with the way we played on Saturday, we made it extremely difficult for them through large spells and were very unlucky to be 2-1 down at the end of the 2nd period,” he said.

“But that’s hockey and we have certainly learnt to be confident in the way we play. It was great to play against a real hockey team that play the game properly.”

Wild returned home on Sunday to face Billingham Stars, who had a fantastic result beating Blackburn Hawks previously which meant two points against the Wild would secure the NIHL Cup.

McKenzie sat the game out for Wild but there was a welcome return for Tom McDonald returned between the pipes.

Both teams came out fast, with the first goal taking 15 minutes to come. Unfortunately for the home fans, it would go the way of the Stars and a second followed almost straight away to end the period 2-0 to the Stars.

Four more unanswered goals in the 2nd and 3rd periods increased the visitors lead to 6-0, all but securing the NIHL Cup for the Stars.

Tom Ratcliffe got a consolation goal back for Wild but a final goal for the visitors would end the scoring at 7-1.

Not the result the home side were looking for but valuable experience gained heading into the playoff weekend next week.

Playoff tickets are still available to buy, for more information email; scott.mckenzie@widneswild.co.uk.