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By Olivia Hooper

The Bristol Honda Pitbulls took to the road and made the trip up to Leeds only to suffer a 6-1 loss.

Going into this game, the Pitbulls were without Jacob White-Sey, Tyler De La Bertouche, Elliot Lewis, Bobby Ragan, Tommy Nappier, Jay King, and assistant coach Tony Redmond. However, from the Nottingham Lions, Pitbulls were joined by Tyler Somerton, Alex Rushby, Ales Padelek, and Isacc Ballinger.

After a 7-0 loss at home, a determined Pitbulls made the trip north to face Leeds Knights in The Castle. With regular netminder Tommy Nappier missing due to illness and Tyler De La Bertouche off with GB, the Pitbulls gave the starting chance to new two-way signing, 16-year-old Harry Thomas. The first period started with the Knights in possession of the puck, wasting no time with trying to get it past Thomas. It was Jordan Buesa who received a pass from Kieran Brown and shot it past Thomas, opening the scoring and puttig the Knights in the lead. It wasn’t long before Knights took another chance with Matthew Haywood hitting it from the blue line, which was saved by Thomas, but Haywood took the rebound and put it to the back of the net, scoring the second for Knights. The next ten minutes were some fast-paced hockey with chances from both sides, but it was the Pitbulls who were presented with the opportunity to put the puck across the line when Lewis Baldwin was sent to the box for a tripping penalty. Despite the Pitbulls having the extra man on the ice, it didn’t stop the Knights from taking the puck down the other end of the ice, where Brown scored a short-handed goal. The first twenty minutes came to an end, and both teams returned to the changing rooms to discuss their strategies for the next period, with Knights in the lead with three goals.

Pitbulls were off to a better start in the second period, taking shots on Harrison Walker and having more control over the puck. A power play was given to the Knights when Alex Rushby was sent to the penalty box to sit two minutes for tripping, but the Pitbulls penalty kill team stopped the Knights from scoring another goal. Bayley Harewood put the Pitbulls back in the game when he fired the puck past Walker, scoring the first goal for the Pitbulls. The Knights were quick to retaliate when Mac Howlett stole the puck and shot it past Thomas, scoring the fourth goal for his team. Another power play chance was given to the Pitbulls when Howlett was given a two-minute penalty for tripping. Nothing was made of this chance for the Pitbulls, but for the Knights, it was another short-handed goal when Brown took it round back and flicked it to Ethan Hehir, who fired it past Thomas. Knights returned to full strength, and the second period was done. Knights were now on five goals with Pitbulls on one.

The third period was off to another bad start for the Pitbulls when Brown went round the back of the net, aimed, and shot, scoring another goal for the Knights. The Knights were given another power play chance when Tyler Somerton sat two minutes for slashing, but nothing was made of this power play with Thomas working hard to earn his place in the net, saving every shot thrown at him. The remaining ten minutes were end-to-end with Pitbulls fighting for another goal before the time was up. With less than two minutes left on the clock, gloves were thrown, and a fight broke out between Pitbulls Mason Lipsey and Knights Ethan Hehir. Both were put in the box with five minutes each for fighting. The buzzer went, and it was Leeds Knights who took the two points in front of their home crowd. Harry Thomas took home man of the match for the Pitbulls after saving a total of forty-five shots and more than earning his place on the team.

Frankie