Tigers chief Tom Watkins expects a run of twelve games in four weeks to be crucial in his side’s defence of the English Premier League title.
The reigning champions face seven homes games in January, alongside five matches on the road, following a two-week break from action over the festive period.
They begin that sequence in Milton Keynes on New Year’s Day, before hosting Manchester Phoenix on Saturday, and then travelling to Bracknell just 24 hours later.
Watkins, who must also prepare his side for the visit of Hull Pirates on Wednesday evening, is relishing the challenge of a busy start to the new year.
He said: “This is the key part of the season now. We’re still capable of putting a run together and I am sure the teams above us will be wary, especially with those games in hand.
“But we need to get points on the board. January is an important month, and will go a long way towards seeing if we have a major say in the title or not.”
The gap to top spot in the English Premier League currently stands at twelve points, although sixth-placed Telford do have three games in hand over the leading teams.
Watkins added: “I would have liked to play some games over Christmas, but I also think having those two weeks off has been good, especially with the injuries we have.
“Hopefully, everyone will feel the benefit of that break. Playing three games in three days is very hard on the body, so we need to find a way to play through it and use the depth of our roster.
“Using our depth players will help to ease the workload. It will be interesting, and not something we’ve done all season, so we’ve got to adjust quickly.”
The county men will be buoyed, however, by a run of three successive wins before the Christmas break, including shut-outs against Milton Keynes and Hull.
“A win at any time is important, but they’re in the bank now and we need to look ahead to the MK game, and the others that come in quick succession,” Watkins said.
“We’ll take it one game at a time, nice and patient. We’re not going to win those games in the first period, so we need to be really smart over 60 minutes.
“Defensively, we have improved over the last few weeks. We identified some areas where we needed to be better. Our powerplay has still been good, but our penalty kill could be better.
“They’re all key areas that make a big difference to winning an ice hockey game.”
Saturday night’s game against Manchester Phoenix, at Telford Ice Rink, faces off at 6pm. Wednesday’s visit of Hull Pirates, meanwhile, starts at 7.30pm.
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