WIDNES Wild continued their impressive winning run in the Laidler Division with a 3-6 win away at north west rivals Altrincham Aces on Sunday night.

It was their 12th win in a row and 15th from 17 starts this season and, coupled with the league’s second placed team Sheffield Senators losing heavily at Telford Tigers at the weekend, the resulting two points see the Wild move seven points clear at the top of the table.

Despite the Aces having had an indifferent season so far, an away to trip to Altrincham is always a tough game and, with the close geographical proximity between the teams and a regular interchange of players over the years, games against the Aces have always been keenly contested and feisty affairs. While this meeting didn’t have quite as much petulance as the previous game when 105 penalty minutes were handed out, it was still a hard-hitting encounter.

The opening stages were quite evenly matched and it took until the 13th minute for the Wild to make the first breakthrough. A powerplay goal by player coach Ollie Barron edged Widnes into the lead and the score remained 0-1 at the first break.

The Wild doubled their advantage just 90 seconds from the restart with a goal from former Aces player Mikey Gilbert but, despite enjoying more possession and more shots on goal than their hosts during the period, were pegged back to 1-2 after 39 minutes.

Widnes upped their game for the third period and were rewarded with 4 unanswered goals – from Stuart Brittle, Barron again and then two from Shaun Dippnall - to give the Wild a healthy 1-6 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

Altrincham pulled another goal back with just two minutes to go but there was never really any danger of them catching the Wild and a few niggly skirmishes in the dying seconds meant that both teams ended the game with men in the penalty box.

After the game, Widnes player/coach Ollie Barron said: “ It was a good result for us. The main thing was to pick up two points and that’s exactly what we did. I felt we played well and, while Altrincham made it difficult in areas of the game, we again showed great character in stepping up in the third period to put the game to bed.”

“We now face Bradford in a double-header weekend, which will be two tough fixtures. It’s my job to make sure we are fully prepared going into Saturday away in Bradford, before welcoming the Bulldogs to Widnes on Sunday.”

The Wild are away to Bradford Bulldogs this Saturday 15th December and then play the same opposition at home at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday. Face off is at 5.30pm and doors open at 4.45.

As it will be the last Wild home game before Christmas, fans are urged to wear Santa hats and other festive attire.

The Widnes Wild Academy Under 15 team continued their first season of competitive ice hockey with a 4-11 defeat at home to Blackburn U15s at Planet Ice Widnes on Saturday.

While obviously being recorded as a defeat, there were a lot of positives to come from this game – not least the fact that it was highest number of goals scored in a game so far by the U15s team and it was also their narrowest margin of defeat in a season during which they will certainly improve as the players gain experience.

The Wild goals were scored by Luke Mullarkey (2), Rory Sillery & Jake Meehan (1 each).

The Academy U15 team are next in action this Saturday when they travel away to Nottingham for a 5.40pm face off game. Their next home match is against Blackburn again on Saturday 5th January.

The Academy Under 13 team are away to Blackburn U13 this Sunday – 6.15pm face off – and are next at home against Nottingham on 19th January.