Warriors 1 tame the Huskies
On Saturday 12th July 2025 our first team welcomed the Shropshire Huskies to Leeds for the corresponding return fixture in the IHSC Cup.
Summary:
Our first team capped off their IHSC Cup campaign in thrilling fashion with a crucial 13–9 win over rivals, Shropshire Huskies, keeping their faint play-off hopes just about alive.
It was a must-win game for the Warriors, who came in knowing the odds were slim - but they were still highly motivated to fight for the two points.
Meanwhile, the Huskies - short-benched and dealing with a long road trip, remained strong contenders for second place with five games still to play.
The last time these two teams met, on May 24th, the Huskies cruised to an 8–4 win on home ice, with a depleted Warriors bench. This time, the roles were reversed, and the Warriors were ready to return the favour.
From the first puck drop, it was clear both teams were hungry for the two points, and what followed was a barn-burner of a game.
Dressed players:
Andrew Hughes (NM), Chris Giles (C), Mitch White, Dylan Noonan, Will Gibbons, Andy Giles, Chris Scampton, Niks Kamaldins, Chris Blaschko, Tyler Heming, Niku Ghaemi, Harvey Galloway, Sam Cadman, Tom Mallon and Dzintars Jonuss.
1st period
The tone of the game was set early on when Mitch White opened the scoring at 4:38 off a feed from Tyler Heming.
The Warriors then doubled the lead at at 7:41 when Dylan Noonan scored from Will Gibbons and Chris Giles assists.
The hosts were now cruising as they made it 3–0 just 28 seconds later (8:09) - Andy Giles buried one from a Niks Kamaldins pass.
But, with 10:06 on the clock, the Huskies pulled one back to make it 3-1 and the Warriors knew this wasn’t going to be as straight-forward as the opening exchanges had initially suggested.
The Warriors then took a minor penalty at 10:50, meaning the Huskies were on a 5-on-4 power play - during which time they capitalised with another goal at 11:29. At 3-2, the Warriors were now in a game.
With 13:11 on the clock, the visitors then showed everyone why they’re play-off contenders as they kept the pressure on and tied the game at 3–3. What a storming come-back from the visitors - three unanswered goals.
Thankfully, White struck again at 14:25 (assisted by Heming) to restore the Warriors lead and ease some of the tension - but, the Huskies levelled it once more at 18:47 - sending both teams into the first intermission tied 4–4. What a hectic 20 minutes of hockey.
The Warriors were left to rue blowing a healthy 3-0 lead in that first period. The team had to pick themselves back up and not allow momentum to swing in the Huskies favour in the second period.
Warriors 4-4 Huskies
2nd period
The Warriors took over in the second frame with a 5–0 shut-out that completely flipped the game:
Chris Scampton finished a great passing play from Harvey Galloway and Dzintars Jonuss at (23:04).
During a Warriors 5-on-4 power play, Noonan struck again (24:10) off a feed from Kamaldins.
Moments later, Galloway made it 8-4 as he scored his first ever goal for the Warriors (26:23) with the assists coming from Kamaldins and Scampton.
Scampton then added another himself with an unassisted goal just under a minute later (27:17).
Despite the team being stretched during a Huskies power-play at 37:18, Galloway struck a short-handed goal at 37:32 - set-up again by Scampton. This was turning into a great night for Scampton and Galloway.
This explosive period meant that the Warriors went into the final period with a commanding 9–4 lead and all the momentum.
Warriors 9-4
3rd period
Whilst it’s tempting to relax when you have built up such a comfortable lead, it’s not wise. The Warriors spoke in the room about avoiding complacency in the final period as the Huskies were likely to come out hard at the start of the final period.
No sooner had things got back underway, when things got chaotic. At 41:57, two Warriors players were sent to the box, meaning the team had to kill a 5-on-3 for two minutes.
This was a big test for the team. At 9-4, an early goal for the Huskies could have started a shift in momentum so the team had to fight to keep them out. But something even better happened, a mis-placed pass at the top of the d-zone was picked up by White who broke away and deked the netminder to give the Warriors a short-handed goal at 43:21. This also completed his hat-trick! 10-4 to the Warriors. This felt like a pivotal goal.
But, the Huskies kept on swinging They replied with power-play goals at 43:40, and again at 44:48 to claw it back to 10–6. The visitors weren’t going down without a fight and the Warriors needed to tighten up defensively or else it could become an uncomfortable last 15 minutes.
Then at 45:51, two players were ejected. For the Warriors, it was Will Gibbons’ game that ended early. Consequently, Chris Giles moved from defence to forward for the remainder of the game, and he played a role in the Warriors’ next goal. White fired a low diagonal shot towards the net, which Giles re-directed into the path of Heming, who made no mistake in converting the chance. (46:50).
But the Huskies kept on pushing - scoring again at 48:32 to make it 11–7. The Huskies had reduced the deficit to four and with over 10 minutes remaining, this still wasn’t entirely comfortable for the Warriors.
Thankfully, just 25 seconds later, Sam Cadman responded with a superb goal, rifling the puck into the top corner as he stepped up from defence to make it 12-7. The set-up came from Tom Mallon and Galloway, and the goal marked Cadman’s first ever for the Warriors.
Now into the final 10 minutes, the Warriors needed to manage the game and wind the clock down, but the Huskies attacks were difficult to contain and they showed no signs of slowing down, despite their short bench.
So it was a relief when Jonuss got on the board at 52:22 to make it 13–7 (assisted by Scampton and Galloway). Finally, this was a lead that seemed insurmountable at such a late stage.
But was it? The relentless Huskies scored twice more - firstly at 54:57 and then again with a short-handed goal at 58:01, while the Warriors had a 5-on-4 advantage - such was the tenacity of the visitors.
The Huskies had now increased their goal tally to 9. But, mercifully for the Warriors, time had run out on a come-back and they had done enough to take the W.
Final score :
Warriors 13-9 Huskies
Points scorers:
Chris Scampton 2+3
Harvey Galloway 2+3
Mitch White 3+1
Tyler Heming 1+2
Niks Kamaldins 0+3
Dylan Noonan 2+0
Dzintars Jonuss 1+1
Chris Giles 0+2
Andy Giles 1+0
Sam Cadman 1+0
Tom Mallon 0+1
Will Gibbons 0+1
What a game! That second period was game defining - and possibly the most dominant the Warriors have been in any game all season. Credit to the team for picking themselves back up when they lost their lead so early in the game.
Harvey Galloway
Player of the game
Sam Cadman
Captain’s player of the game
When it came to the post-game awards, Harvey Galloway was named Player of the Game by the Huskies - having scored his first and second goals for the team - and the Warriors helmet went to Sam Cadman who also picked up his first goal for the Warriors. Well played guys!
Honourable mentions go to Andrew Hughes who had an impressive game between the pipes, taking 58 shots. As always, Mitch White showed his quality, registering 3+1.
It was also an amazing night for Galloway and Scampton who both registered 5 points and a huge second period contribution.
This was the Warriors' tenth and final game of the IHSC Cup. Whilst this win gives the team a life-line in the play-off race, their fate now depends on other results and realistically it’s unlikely they’ll make second position. If they could finish in 3rd position that would be a great acheivement for this team.
The Huskies, on the other hand, with five games still to play, remain in a strong position to take second place and a play-off berth.
Regardless of how the standings shake out, the Warriors can hold their heads high after a gutsy, high-scoring statement win to finish their IHSC Cup campaign. Well done!
Watch this space for future Warriors 1 fixtures : Fixtures and Results.
Finally, a big thank you to Phil Bradley, Paul Eaglestone, Rich Guttridge, Stella Giwisser, Connor Brocklebank and al the others who turned out to support the team or help with running the clock etc. It’s always great to see your faces in the crowd!
Note : Our Warriors development team took on the Grimsby Trawlers earlier in the evening - keep your eyes peeled for that game report which is coming soon.
