Coach Tom Watkins admitted he was left scratching his head after watching Telford Tigers demolish Guildford Flames 7-3 at Telford Ice Rink on Sunday night.
Success over the Flames followed Saturday night’s dismal 3-1 loss to Basingstoke, a defeat that finally killed off Telford’s hopes of retaining their EPL championship
But on the twelve-month anniversary of that title win, the Tigers proved too strong for a Guildford outfit that could yet be crowned this year’s champions.
Watkins said: “There were some really big performances from our players out there tonight. The difference from last night kind of left us scratching our heads.
“The level of play was excellent and the finishing was fantastic. Joe Miller scored two sublime goals, Dan Davies showed great finishing and Makrov was excellent as well.
“Dale scored a great goal, and it was a huge team effort from everyone, especially with five guys missing. It was a big performance and I am proud of the boys tonight.”
Guildford were first on the scoresheet last night with a goal after just four minutes, as neither team took control of early proceedings.
Telford opened their account a few minutes later, however, thanks to a strike from Dan Davies.
Davies was on target again at the halfway point of the game, before Joe Miller added a third on 37 minutes.
Dale White extended the hosts’ advantage just 60 seconds later, although Guildford hit back just before the interval.
But Miller was on hand almost straight away to give Telford a 5-2 cushion on the stroke of 40 minutes.
Andrei Makrov scored the Tigers’ sixth goal of the night at the start of the final session, before adding a seventh on 47 minutes.
And despite a late consolation goal from Guildford, Telford collected their second home win over the Flames this season.
Watkins added: “The first time we threw the youngsters on, they were up against two imports and a high-end Brit, but they did a fantastic job for us.
“They pinned them in their zone and they were all good. The three guys on our young line were excellent.”
The second period proved key to Telford’s success on Sunday, with four of their seven goals coming during that middle session – despite a string of penalties.
“I thought our energy in the second period was fantastic, but the catalyst for that was the penalty kill at the end of the first,” he said.
“That carried over after the break and I’ve said before that if you don’t score on a five on three, it is going to be tough. Guildford didn’t score for the amount of
time they had that advantage.
“The boys dug in and that raised our spirits, perhaps with a bit of adversity from some of the calls against us. The energy from the boys was massive.”
The Tigers are back in action next weekend, when they travel to face Manchester Phoenix on Saturday, before hosting Sheffield Steeldogs at Telford Ice Rink the next day.
* Telford Ice Rink will play host to Manchester Phoenix’s rearranged English Premier League game against Telford Tigers on March 9th (7.30pm).
The match, originally scheduled for December 27th, has been switched from Deeside Ice Rink – the venue for Manchester’s home games this season – due to a lack of available ice time.
League rules mean the EPL encounter will be classed as a home game for the Phoenix – despite it taking place at the Shropshire rink.
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