Its Do or Die for the Seahawks after Sharing Playoff Points with Yorkshire Rivals
Hull Reckitt Seahawks v Leeds Knights – 06/04/2025
The Hull Reckitt Seahawks season will go down to the wire for a place in the Planet Ice National Ice Hockey League Final Four, after sharing the spoils against the championship-winning Leeds Knights at the weekend.
The Seahawks must now target a maximum points haul from their double header against the Telford Tigers to be in with a chance of heading to Coventry.
With NIHL Playoff Group A finely poised, the Seahawks need to couple positive results against the Tigers with a decisive outcome for either the Knights or the Peterborough Phantoms.
Having secured two points against the Phantoms in the first round of playoff fixtures, the Seahawks found themselves flying on Saturday after a 7-6 OT win at the Castle to beat the Knights.
However, with moments left in the reverse fixture, on Sunday, the Seahawks were 4-3 up and heading for a four-point weekend, but a late surge from the Knights saw them overturn that deficit to claim a 6-4 victory and take qualification for the Final Four out of Hull’s hands.
“The weekend has been a really tough one for the team, there aren’t words to sum up how we feel at the moment. We’re just gutted,” said a dejected Seahawks Head Coach Matty Davies in his post-match interview.
“We put ourselves in a great position with five minutes to go tonight, but we have managed to lose the game. We didn’t do what we needed to do and, as coach, I take full responsibility for that.
“Overall, I am proud of the boys’ performances. They have played for our fans, they have played for the shirt, and they have played for each other, but have unfortunately come up short in the end.
“We now need to pick ourselves up and go and get four points next weekend and see what happens.”
On Saturday, the Seahawks made the short trip along the A63/M62 to face the Knights.
Despite the euphoria that would erupt at the end of the contest, the game would start badly for the Seahawks when former Hull Pirate Matt Bissonnette scored after 46 seconds to put Leeds ahead.
However, a powerplay opportunity would present itself, at 10:28, that Hull would capitalise on.
As Innes Gallacher sat a two-minute penalty for hooking, Canadian forward Johnny Corneil levelled things with a smart finish.
The Seahawks then seized control of the match, laying down two further markers before the first period intermission, at 14:52, through Owen Sobchak and then via Corneil, at 18:47, for his second of the game.
As much as the first 20 minutes belonged to the Seahawks the second period would be the Knights, as they scored three goals to turn the contest on its head. Bissonnette grabbed a second, at 29:43, followed by Mac Howlett, at 34:11, and Finley Bradon, at 38:10, to send the home side into the locker room 4-3 to the good.
The third stanza started with Sobchak netting an equaliser, his second of the night, on the powerplay, at 41:18, a gift of a chance presented to the Seahawks at the end of the second period when Jordan Buesa was given a two-minute penalty for high sticks.
Leeds did force their way back in front, at 46:05, through a second strike from Howlett but it was cancelled out by Jason Hewitt’s goal at 53:43.
A two-minute slashing penalty for Sobchak on 56 minutes gave the Knights a golden opportunity to seal the win and take the points, which they thought they had done, at 56:53, through Matthew Barron.
With the clock ticking down, the Seahawks called a timeout, at 58:52, and pulled the goalie for the extra skater as they went all-in.
It proved a wise strategy when, with 13 seconds left, Sobchak atoned for his earlier penalty transgression by grabbing a stunning leveller, and his hat-trick, to take the game into overtime and set Lee Bonner up to score the winning goal, at 62:55, and secure a huge win on the road.
Back at Hull Arena on Sunday, the Seahawks knew they needed a win or at least a point to keep their destiny in their own hands.
What unfolded over the next 60 minutes would be another intense Yorkshire Derby for the ages in front of a near sell-out crowd.
Unfortunately, ill-discipline would be the Seahawks undoing in the first period, with two powerplay goals for the Knights sandwiching an Owen Sobchak effort.
Leeds took the lead on 13:02 through Jordan Buesa, as Alex Kent sat a two-minute penalty for slashing.
Sobchak’s equaliser came just over a minute later, at 14:51, with the Canadian netting a delayed penalty effort after dancing through the Knights defence.
However, with the first period almost over, Leeds would retake the lead, at 19:18, thanks to Matthew Barron, who tipped the puck in to make it 2-1.
The ill-discipline that had dogged the Seahawks in the first 20 minutes would carry over into the start of the second period when, at 21:41, Lee Haywood was called for hooking and Oli Endicott grabbed Leeds’ third of the night, on the powerplay, at 23:06.
The Seahawks would reduce the deficit to a single goal by taking advantage of a powerplay of their own, at 33:24, with Sobchak scoring his second of the night with an absolute screamer while Mac Howlett sat two minutes for roughing.
A stunning start to the third stanza had Seahawks fans dreaming of Coventry (a sentence that might never have been uttered by anyone in the history of ever), as Sobchak netted a second hat-trick in two games, at 44:30, to level things up before Emil Svec found the go-ahead goal, at 49:47, after being fed the puck in front of the net and the Czech forward picking out the top corner.
But Hull couldn’t hold on, with the Knights showcasing why they were champions when Matt Bissonnette made the contest all square, at 54:23, and Kieran Brown then broke the hearts of the home faithful to put the visitors in front again at 56:55.
Like the night before, the Seahawks called a timeout, at 58:12, and made the decision to pull the goalie as they chased an equaliser.
Alas, the result was different this time around, as Bissonnette beat Declan Balmer to the puck and slung it down the ice to score an empty net goal, at 58:58, to take the win and the points back to West Yorkshire.
By Mark Bateman
