BRACKNELL, UK – The Bees face a tough test at The Hive on Sunday as they clash with the high-flying Sheffield Steeldogs. Bracknell suffered their first home defeat of the season against the Swindon Wildcats last weekend, but hope to get back on track with games against the Milton Keynes Lightning and Sheffield this weekend. “It’s still early days, we’re playing well and competing every night, but we need to keep it up. “There’s such a long way to go, and we need to take every game as it comes ” said Bees Head Coach Gareth Cox. Last season, the Bees and Steeldogs were rivals for the last playoff spot, before a double-header in Sheffield tipped the battle in favour of the Yorkshire side – and they pulled away to claim the final playoff ticket. However, this season the Steeldogs are very comfortable in second place in the English Premier League table. Having only lost twice this season, things are looking bright for Sheffield. Janis Ozolins and former Bees player Ashley Calvert are sure to front the Steeldogs’ attack. Ozolins has already netted seven times in six games this season. Sheffield netminder Ben Bowns is likely to be put under pressure from Bees forwards Martin Masa and Rob Lamey. Lamey may still be wearing a face-mask after suffering a facial injury last weekend. The Bees captain caught a high-stick in the face from former Bees sniper Jaroslav Cesky, and took part in Sunday’s game with the cage. The Bees narrowly missed out on maintaining their unbeaten home record against Swindon last weekend, but a Michal Pinc goal was enough to give the Wildcats the win. “We need to just work, work, work. And if that doesn’t work we need to work even harder” added Cox. The Bees are one of four teams on six points, while the Steeldogs have eight points in second place behind Manchester Phoenix. We may still be in the early stages of the season, but we look set for a different looking league this year. Contact the author david.bol@prohockeynews.com
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