Haringey Huskies 10 Swindon Widcats 2

Haringey Huskies stay top of the league after an emphatic 10-2 victory against Swindon’s NIHL2 team.

Stephen Woodford remarkably chalked up his third hat-trick in as many games – and even then he was outscored by Stuart Appleby with four on the night at Alexandra Palace.

Along with line-mate Ben Osborne, they dominated the short-benched Wildcats throughout.

Huskies took the lead in the second minute when Woodford was on hand after Osborne’s shot was saved.

The pressure on the Wildcats’ net was relentless, with a glut of goals in the middle of the period, as a good old-fashioned shoot-the-puck-and-crash-the-net policy yielded dividends.

In the 10th minute Appleby converted after Liam Mcguire saved Daniel Clayton’s shot.

Two minutes later Woodford bagged a poacher’s goal after Bryn Griffiths’ shot was parried.

In the 15th minute Appleby received a cross-ice pass from Osborne and took his time, finding the bottom corner. Still in the 15th minute, Woodford got a redirect on Griffiths’ blue line shot to complete a very quick hat-trick and send the hosts 5-0 up by the first interval.

The north London side began the second period where they left off with Appleby passing to Osborne to ping one in off the underside of the bar.

Wildcats then had their best spell of the game, bringing a string of solid saves from Huskies netminder Jussi Lynch-Grut, before finally beating him in the 28th minute, captain Loris Taylor scoring with a fierce shot on the powerplay.

Two goals late in the session opened up an 8-1 lead for Haringey, with defenceman Lewis Jones firing one in from the blue line after Sam Park won the draw, then Appleby completed his hat-trick as a speculative effort squirmed through the keeper on the near post.

Swindon scored a second at the start of the final period with a powerplay goal, as Daniel Sullivan’s effort squeezed in at the near post.

With the teams tiring and the game slowing, it was not until the 56th minute until the Huskies got on the board again as nice passing between Park and Woodford provided Osborne with a tap-in.

Appleby made it double figures for his side, banking one in off the goalie to complete a very satisfying evening for the hosts.

Huskies: Stuart Appleby 4+1, Stephen Woodford 3+2, Ben Osborne 2+2, Lewis Jones 1+0, Daniel Clayton 0+2, Bryn Griffiths 0+2, Sam Park 0+2, Ryan Payne 0+1, Alastair Band 0+1, Mark Voslinsky 0+1

Wildcats: Loris Taylor 1+1, Daniel Sullivan 1+0, Harvey Robson 0+1, Deakon Fielder 0+1, Michael Power 0+1