Tigers coach Tom Watkins has fired the starting pistol on a huge weekend for the club, as he prepares to face EPL form teams Basingstoke Bison and Guildford Flames.
Telford’s run of six consecutive wins has placed them joint-top of the form table, alongside Guildford, with the Bison having lost just one of their last seven games.
The Tigers, who are still fifth in the EPL standings, also have at least two games in hand over the top-three sides – and four in hand over league leaders Basingstoke.
Victory in both matches this weekend would lift Telford into fourth place, and keep alive their hopes of retaining the league title they won last season.
Watkins said: “It’s a very important weekend for us, and it’s as simple as that. We have given ourselves a chance to catch teams above us with four points and that is our only focus.
“Regardless of who we face, if the guys aren’t ready for these games, they shouldn’t be playing. I don’t think any extra spark is needed for this weekend.
“The players are ready, they’re focused and we’re playing well, so that’s all there is to say. We’ll be prepared to play this weekend.”
Saturday night sees Telford make the trip to face Basingstoke in Hampshire, while on Sunday, Guildford Flames are the visitors to Telford Ice Rink.
Watkins will again rely on his powerplay unit in this weekend’s matches, with the combination of import Andrei Makrov and defenceman Sam Zajac having posted two goals last week.
He added: “Andrei is a good offensive winger who adds a lot to our powerplay unit. He takes the puck to the net a lot and gives us good balance.
“He’s come in, created a good tempo in training and the guys have upped their work rate which been good to see. Unfortunately, we’ve had some bad luck with injuries since he arrived, which has limited our options.”
Sunday’s visit of Guildford Flames to Telford Ice Rink gets under way at 6pm. For tickets, go to www.tigershockeyuk.com.
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