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BEFORE the NIHL National season sprang into life back in September, Ryan Aldridge had stated that the 2022-23 campaign would chiefly be a building year for Leeds Knights.

Two months on, sitting three points clear at the top of the standings, with a game in hand and having not yet lost in regulation, the Knights’ head coach insists that is still the case.

Of course the Knights’ players are aware of how well they have started the season, of course they realise they are top of the table and the team everybody wants to cut down to size.

But do they feel any pressure at being top? Apparently not, according to Aldridge. Because, by rights, this team probably didn’t expect to be where it is so soon.

AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: Leeds Knights' head coach Ryan Aldridge says the 2022-23 NIHL National campaign was a building season, but they have taken the league by storn to lead by three points with a game in hand after 16 games. Picture courtesy of Oliver Portamento.

The ‘building’ work that Aldridge referred to back in pre-season suggested it was going to be a gradual process that would see the Knights develop into a contender, the playoffs being the most likely time of year when the team would – hopefully – be realising its potential.

And as they prepare to welcome Telford Tigers to Elland Road Ice Arena tomorrow (face-off 6.30pm) Aldridge and his players, particularly those who were around last year, are aware of how quickly their circumstances can change.

It only takes a string of injuries to knock a team off balance and out of their stride, no matter how well they may have been playing previously.

And, given the Knights are still being pursued so closely by the likes of second-placed Peterborough Phantoms and, just beneath them, Milton Keynes Lightning, it points to how hotly-contested the race for the league title – still the most coveted trophy in a typical UK hockey season – actually is and that it will probably go down to the wire.

GOOD GOING: Ryan Aldridge has overseen a brilliant start to the season by Leeds Knights and is aware of the quality he has on his roster. Picture courtesy of Oliver Portamento.

When asked if there was any pressure building given his team’s start to the season, Aldridge replied: “Do we feel any pressure at being top?

“We don’t discuss it in the locker room, it’s really not talked about, not mentioned. I think the pressure comes from within our group – even if it isn’t said – but that’s because of where we are and the fact that we just want to run with it.

“This is meant to be a building year – it’s still a building year. There was no pressure for us to go into this season and win anything – we still don’t feel any pressure.”

Leeds Knights v Telford Tigers: No pressure as Knights exceed pre-season expectations in NIHL National