The Wild will be able to renew their keen rivalry with Deeside Dragons in the new 2022/23 NIHL Season
The YKK sponsored Widnes Wild have announced their fixture list for the new 2022/23 NIHL season which starts in September.
The Wild will, once again, be taking part in the NIHL North Moralee Division, which this season will have 9 teams following the return to competition of intense local rivals Deeside Dragons after their home venue was restored to use as an ice rink after being used as a Covid facility for the past two years.
All teams will play each other four times over the course of the season – twice at home and twice away – for a 32 game regular league schedule. There will also be end of season play offs and two cup competitions.
The Moralee Cup – which the Wild won last season – is going to be played for again but, instead having separate qualifying groups, the league results in the first home and away games between the teams involved will count towards the cup table and the top four finishing teams will proceed directly to the semi finals.
The Wild are also playing in a three-team cup competition against Deeside and Blackburn with each team playing the others once home and away in a group set-up, with the top team overall winning the trophy. Dates for these matches are yet to be confirmed.
Widnes fans will have their first chance to see player coach Richard Haggar’s new look team in action on Sunday 4th September when the Wild take on Sutton Sting in a pre-season challenge match at Planet Ice Widnes, 5.30pm face off.
The league action gets under way the week after with a tough trip away to face last season’s Moralee Division runners up Whitley Warriors in the north east on Sunday 11th September and then away to Nottingham Lions on Sunday 18th September.
The Wild’s first home league fixture of the season is on Sunday 25th September when they face Whitley, with home games against Solihull and Nottingham following on subsequent weekends.
The highly anticipated first meeting for over two years with the Dragons will take place at Widnes on Sunday 6th November with the corresponding away game in North Wales on Saturday 19th November.
The full list of Widnes Wild NIHL fixtures for the 2022/23 season is:
4th Sept: home v Sutton Sting (ch) 11th Sept: away @ Whitley Warriors 18th Sept: away @ Nottingham Lions 25th Sept: home v Whitley Warriors 2nd Oct: home v Solihull Barons 9th Oct: home v Nottingham Lions 16th Oct: away & Billingham Stars 22nd Oct: away @ Solway Sharks 23rd Oct: home v Billingham Stars 29th Oct: away @ Sheffield Scimitars 6th Nov: home v Deeside Dragons 13th Nov: home v Blackburn Hawks 19th Nov: away @ Deeside Dragons 20th Nov: home v Sheffield Scimitars 27th Nov: home v Billingham Stars 4th Dec: home v Solway Sharks 11th Dec: away @ Blackburn Hawks 18th Dec: away at Solihull Barons 8th Jan: away at Nottingham Lions 15th Jan: home v Blackburn Hawks 22nd Jan: away @ Solihull Barons 28th Jan: home v Sheffield (Sat) 29th Jan: away @ Whitley Warriors 5th Feb: away @ Deeside Dragons 11th Feb: home v Solihull (Sat) 12th Feb: home v Solway Sharks 19th Feb: away @ Sheffield Scimitars 26th Feb: home v Deeside Dragons 5th Mar: away @ Billingham Stars 11th Mar: away @ Solway Sharks 19th Mar: away @ Blackburn Hawks
TBC: home v Nottingham Lions (league) TBC: home v Whitley Warriors (league) TBC: home v Blackburn Hawk (cup) TBC: home v Deeside Dragons (cup) TBC: away @ Blackburn Hawk (cup) TBC: away @ Deeside Dragons (cup)
The end of season play offs will see the top 8 finishing teams play quarter finals home and away over two legs, with the four winning teams progressing to a finals weekend at a neutral venue.
The dates for these games are: 1st & 2nd April: Quarter Finals (two legs) 8th April: Semi finals (single games) 9th April: Play Off Final
Season tickets for the new NIHL 2022/23 season – covering all 16 home league games plus the challenge game against Sutton and cup home games against Blackburn and Deeside – are still available at a price of £195 for adults and £100 for children, with an option to pay in three instalments. This does not include any Semi-Final nor Final games Hosted at Planet Ice Widnes.
Season ticket holders are able to have their chosen seat reserved for all included home games and also receive free membership of the Wild Supporters Club.
To purchase season tickets for the new 2022/23 season, please email info@widneswild.co.uk
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