Tigers chief Tom Watkins will seek improvements from his side when they face Swindon Wildcats on Sunday, despite watching them beat Sheffield Steeldogs 6-4.
Saturday night’s encounter in Yorkshire was marred by penalties, with the hosts taking 52 minutes during a single second period incident.
But the reigning English Premier League champions weathered that storm to chalk up victory in the first game of their title defence at Ice Sheffield.
And with Swindon Wildcats due to visit Shropshire on Sunday (6pm), Watkins is set to demand an improved performance.
He said: “We made it tough for ourselves tonight and took some needless penalties. We let Sheffield back into the game by creating turnovers and giving them chances.
“I was a bit disappointed with the performance, but we walked out of there with two points. There are lessons to be learned from our own mistakes.
“I am sure Swindon Wildcats will come here tomorrow with a plan and we have got to be prepared for that. We need to be better in all three zones.”
The Tigers fell behind to an early goal from Sheffield’s Lubomir Korhon on Saturday, before strikes from Martin Ondrej, Phil Hill and Joe Miller gave them a 3-1 cushion on 23 minutes.
Nathan Salem and Miller handed Telford a 5-1 lead at the 42nd minute mark, before a mini fightback from the Steeldogs.
Tom Squires, Stanislav Lascek and Arnoldas Bosas threatened to derail Telford’s game plan, before Miller put the result beyond doubt with his hat-trick goal.
Watkins added: “Joe Miller did well tonight, and he’s worked very hard during the summer. He’s definitely got a spring in his step. He is on the top line for a reason, to create good offence.
“Hill and Kutny looked good and gave good strength in certain areas. They both played well and kept it simple, whereas we can sometimes over complicate things.”
Sunday night’s clash with Swindon Wildcats, at Telford Ice Rink, faces off at 6pm.
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