It’s time to sound the alarm: Liam Kirk is back on the scoresheet, albeit not quite where we expected him to be. He was reassigned to the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators on Tuesday [22 November] and has played with a fire under his skates ever since.
Kirk has three points (two goals, one assist) through his first three appearances in the third tier, in addition to a match-winning penalty shot versus the South Carolina Stingrays. After a bumpy start to the season, the 22-year-old means business.
LIAM KIRK THE SHOOTOUT HERO 🔥
GLADS WIN! pic.twitter.com/wpHMWTnPdH
— Atlanta Gladiators (@atlgladiators) November 27, 2022
In the Elite League, the Sheffield Steelers and Manchester Storm beat the Nottingham Panthers to hand Corey Neilson a winless first weekend back behind the bench at the Motorpoint Arena.
“I’d like to thank the fans for the lovely reception,” said the returning head coach, “it was amazing and quite emotional. In terms of the game [versus Sheffield], let’s look at it in a positive light. Jordan Kelsall, what a game from that kid playing [in] defence for the first time.
“We had one training session [and] we worked on backchecking, defensive zone coverage, and breakouts. That being said, I thought the players committed and did a really good job of those things.”
In the National League, the Leeds Knights reinforced their lead at the top of the table with wins over Raiders IHC and the Hull Seahawks.
Elite League, Week 12:
Friday, 25 November 2022:
- Glasgow Clan 6-1 Dundee Stars
Saturday, 26 November 2022:
- Guildford Flames 2-1 Belfast Giants
- Dundee Stars 6-3 Glasgow Clan
- Sheffield Steelers 3-2 Nottingham Panthers (SO)
- Cardiff Devils 1-2 Coventry Blaze (OT)
- Manchester Storm 1-5 Fife Flyers
Sunday, 27 November 2022:
- Nottingham Panthers 1-3 Manchester Storm
- Coventry Blaze 3-5 Belfast Giants
- Fife Flyers 3-0 Cardiff Devils
National League, Week 11:
Saturday, 26 November 2022:
- Basingstoke Bison 4-5 Hull Seahawks
- Bees IHC 3-4 Peterborough Phantoms
- Bristol Pitbulls 2-3 Sheffield Steeldogs (SO)
- Leeds Knights 8-0 Raiders IHC
- Swindon Wildcats 5-2 Telford Tigers
Saturday, 27 November 2022:
- Hull Seahawks 1-6 Leeds Knights
- Peterborough Phantoms 4-3 Bristol Pitbulls
- Raiders IHC 3-7 Swindon Wildcats
- Sheffield Steeldogs 3-4 Milton Keynes Lightning
- Telford Tigers 4-5 Bees IHC
Liam Kirk enjoys fast start with the Atlanta Gladiators:
Liam Kirk, Tucson Roadrunners (Image: AHL)
- 26/11/22: Atlanta Gladiators 4-3 South Carolina Stingrays (SO)
- 25/11/22: Atlanta Gladiators 3-1 South Carolina Stingrays
- 24/11/22: Atlanta Gladiators 2-1 Savanah Ghost Pirates
- Liam Kirk: 2G, 1A, +4
Are you happy to see Liam Kirk back on the scoresheet? Join the discussion by tweeting @BritIceHockey.
