Tom Watkins will demand “60-minute performance” from The Tigers against Peterborough Phantoms tomorrow night, after Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to title rivals Basingstoke.
A dramatic evening in Hampshire saw Telford lose out on penalties for the second time this season against the Bison, following a 2-2 stalemate after overtime.
Results elsewhere mean The Tigers still have a ten-point lead at the top of the English Premier League, but Head Coach Watkins will be looking for an immediate recovery from his men.
He said: “We can’t just show up with expectation. It comes down to more than that and we need to bounce back straight away.
“So far this season, we’ve done that and we have a great record at home. We have to put in a 60-minute performance and play as hard as we can, whenever we’re on the ice.
“We need to do the little things better, like shooting the puck. To have just 28 shots on their goal is not good enough.
“If you don’t have success in shooting the puck, then you’re a bit slower in doing it and the chance is gone.”
A seventh-minute goal from Joe Rand put Basingstoke ahead, before The Tigers equalised through Rick Plant on 23 minutes.
Dan Davies gave the visitors a 2-1 lead at the halfway point of the third period, only for the Bison to equalise just moments later.
That set up a nailbiting period of overtime, before a save from Dean Skinns during the penalty shootout secured two points for the hosts.
Watkins added: “It is always a lottery when penalties are taken, but we never got a handle on the game.
“We might look back at the end of the year and say it was good to get a point on the road, but it
is very disappointing to lose.”
The Tigers return to action on Sunday night against Peterborough Phantoms, at Telford Ice Rink.
Face-off is 5.30pm.
NIHL LEAD:
Assistant Coach Jason Parry insists his Tigers NIHL players have benefitted from training with the club’s EPL side, after they ground out a 2-0 win over Widnes Wild.
Saturday night’s encounter at Telford Ice Rink saw The Tigers struggle to assert their authority over a Widnes side they had dominated earlier in the season.
Goals from Karol Jets and James Smith ultimately gave Telford victory, despite them coming under heavy pressure during the third period.
That win means The Tigers maintain their pursuit of Laidler Conference leaders Solihull – and Parry believes his players will continue to improve.
He said: “We were a bit flat in the first period, but still came away with a 1-0 lead and in the second period, we just couldn’t put our chances away.
“James Smith scored a great goal for us later on, but there were also good performances from guys like Matthew Lees in defence.
“He‘s been training with the English Premier League side over Christmas, which was a great experience for him.
“About four or five of our guys did the same thing and it is just another level. The tempo is quicker and stronger, so what they learn there, they bring back to us and we benefit from it.”
A hard-working performance from Widnes almost saw them steal a point during a frantic final session, with Denis Bell at his best to deny the Mersyside outfit.
Parry added: “Widnes were missing a couple of their imports, so that could have made a difference. They still worked very hard and in the last period had a lot of shots on our goal.
“We were killing penalties for most of that time and even killed a five on three.”
Tomorrow sees The Tigers NIHL make the lengthy trip to face Hull Jets – and they will have a warning ringing in their ears from Parry, as he looks for an improved performance.
“We can’t take anything for granted in this league,” he said.
“The away game in Bradford was a struggle and we only just came away from there with two points.
“I haven’t seen much of Hull yet, but they have a young nucleus of a team. That means they’ll have a lot of energy.
“If we don’t turn up against Hull, they’ll beat us.”
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