Tigers NIHL coach Jason Parry remained proud of his short-handed side, despite watching them lose 9-1 to Whitley Warriors on Sunday night.
The Telford men faced a remarkable barrage of 62 shots in the north-east, as Whitley continued their challenge for the Moralee Conference title.
Defeat on Tyneside followed a 7-5 loss to Sheffield Spartans on Saturday night, completing a tough double-header weekend of away games.
But Parry hailed his side’s workrate in Sunday’s night’s game, after they faced a hard-nosed Whitley outfit.
He said: “Going to Whitley is never easy, but we were missing a lot of players and the Warriors proved too strong in the end.
“My players never gave up, though, and the way they kept pushing is something I am incredibly proud of. The fact that we still had 33 shots on their goal tells its own story.
Young Sam Ellis stepped in to replace the injured Denis Bell in goal and he did a great job. He turned away 53 shots, which is a fantastic performance.”
The Warriors scored three times in the first period, before a further two goals in the second session, as they took early control of proceedings.
Simon Harrison snatched a consolation goal on 50 minutes, but four more late strikes from the Warriors put the result beyond doubt.
Parry added: “Now is the time for us to look forward and focus on the next game. We can’t change what happened on Sunday, so I want to get the guys working again in training.
“We still have a very good chance of making the last two play-offs places, although we are now just one of four teams on 22 or 21 points.
“We have a few weeks’ break now, so it will be a good chance to shake off the weekend’s results. I want us to come back firing and very strong.”
The Tigers NIHL are next in action on January 30th, when they host league leaders Blackburn Hawks (5.30pm).
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