An emphatic four-point weekend for MK Lightning saw them retain their grip on top spot in the Planet Ice NIHL National Division.

Lightning picked up an impressive 9-3 victory over Sheffield Steeldogs on Saturday before visiting Hull Seahawks and winning 4-1 the following day.

Leeds Knights kept pace at the top of the table after going 2/2 themselves. The Knights beat Telford Tigers and Bees IHC over the weekend – both by a 5-2 margin.

Peterborough Phantoms’ fine form continued as they established a six-point cushion between themselves and 4th-placed Hull.

The Phantoms defeated their nearest rivals 3-2 in a pivotal clash on Saturday, then travelled to Telford the following day and ran out 6-3 winners in Shropshire – on the weekend that head coach Slava Koulikov celebrated a decade in charge.

Elsewhere, Swindon Wildcats won twice on the road – including an overtime victory at Solway Sharks – to climb up to 5th in the league standings.

The much anticipated double-header between Raiders IHC and Bristol Pitbulls saw the Raiders win convincingly home and away. Saturday’s 7-4 win in Bristol and Sunday’s 12-4 triumph on home soil also saw them leapfrog the Pitbulls and climb off the foot of the table.

Full results for the weekend’s NIHL action can be found below. Thanks to our friends at NIHL Stats, you can also check out the latest WNIHL and junior league results.

NIHL National Division –

Sat 9th Dec Bristol Pitbulls 4-7 Raiders IHC L
Sat 9th Dec Leeds Knights 5-2 Telford Tigers L/C
Sat 9th Dec Milton Keynes Lightning 9-3 Sheffield Steeldogs L/C
Sat 9th Dec Peterborough Phantoms 3-2 Hull Seahawks L
Sat 9th Dec Solway Sharks 7-8 (OT) Swindon Wildcats L
Sun 10th Dec Bees IHC 2-5 Leeds Knights L
Sun 10th Dec Hull Seahawks 1-4 Milton Keynes Lightning L
Sun 10th Dec Raiders IHC 12-4 Bristol Pitbulls L/C
Sun 10th Dec Sheffield Steeldogs 3-6 Swindon Wildcats L/C
Sun 10th Dec Telford Tigers 3-6 Peterborough Phantoms L

NIHL North 1 (Moralee) –

Sat 9th Dec Hull Jets 5-4 (OT) Nottingham Lions L/C
Sat 9th Dec Widnes Wild 1-5 Whitley Warriors L
Sun 10th Dec Billingham Stars 4-2 Blackburn Hawks L/C
Sun 10th Dec Deeside Dragons 4-2 Sheffield Scimitars L
Sun 10th Dec Nottingham Lions 2-5 Widnes Wild L
Sun 10th Dec Whitley Warriors 4-7 Solihull Barons L/C

NIHL South 1 (Britton) –

Sat 9th Dec Romford Buccaneers 11-3 Oxford City Stars L
Sat 9th Dec Slough Jets 2-4 Invicta Dynamos L
Sat 9th Dec Solent Devils 8-5 Chelmsford Chieftains L
Sun 10th Dec Chelmsford Chieftains 5-2 Romford Buccaneers L
Sun 10th Dec Invicta Dynamos 8-4 Slough Jets L
Sun 10th Dec Milton Keynes Thunder 1-11 Solent Devils L/C

NIHL North 2 (Laidler) –

Sat 9th Dec Kingston Sharks 2-3 Coventry NIHL Blaze L
Sat 9th Dec Telford Tigers NIHL 2 5-1 Billingham Buccaneers L
Sun 10th Dec Altrincham Aces 1-8 Telford Tigers NIHL 2 L
Sun 10th Dec Sheffield Titans 5-2 Kingston Sharks L

NIHL South 2 (Wilkinson) –

Sat 9th Dec Invicta Mustangs 5-6 (SO) Haringey Huskies L/C
Sat 9th Dec Lee Valley Lions 5-2 Peterborough Phantoms NIHL 2 L/C
Sun 10th Dec Basingstoke Buffalo 15-0 Solent Junior Devils L/C
Sun 10th Dec Streatham Black Hawks 0-13 Bristol Pitbulls NIHL 2 L

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Photo credit: Leeds Knights / Jacob Lowe