Telford Tigers will be urged to use Wednesday night’s 8-1 win over Hull Pirates as the springboard for a key month of games against the EPL’s title challengers.
Victory over the Humberside outfit – Telford’s seventh successive two-point haul – means they are now joint-fourth in the league standings, alongside Guildford Flames.
The Tigers now go on to face a host of teams in the top-half of the EPL table over coming weeks – starting with Saturday night’s trip to Surrey.
Head coach Tom Watkins wants an extension of the run that has seen his side remain unbeaten since the start of December.
He said: “I’m pleased that we got the two points tonight, but I’m also pleased that we managed to keep our winning streak, going into what I believe is the toughest stretch of the season.
“Over the next few weeks, we play Guildford, Peterborough, Basingstoke and Swindon. They’re all teams in and around us, so we need to keep this run going and take points off them.”
Telford took the lead in the first period on Wednesday night, thanks to Max Birbraer, but endured a slow start to the second period, as the visitors equalised through Lee Bonner.
That goal served to spark an upturn from The Tigers, however – Birbraer handed his side the lead once again on 26 minutes.
And Joe Miller added a third goal just moments later, as Telford made the most of their larger squad.
The second period ended with a 4-1 lead for the hosts, after Birbraer completed his hat-trick on 28 minutes.
The final session saw Birbraer snatch his fourth goal of the night, alongside a brace for local youngster Adam Taylor, and another strike from Blaho Novak.
The Tigers chief added: “It’s been really important that we’ve gone on this run, since before Christmas, to where we are now. It has given us an opportunity.
“Teams above us will hopefully now start to feel a bit of pressure, because they can see us coming. We’ve got our game going and we’re confident in ourselves.
“The guys are playing well. Our goaltending is good, and our penalty kill and powerplays are excellent right now.”
The county men rained in 59 shots on the Hull goal during Wednesday night’s win, with many of the club’s younger NIHL players enjoying extended ice time.
“The young guys like Corey Goodson did a great job tonight,” Watkins said.
“Corey is a super kid and is really committed, so it was good to give him some extra ice time. We were a bit short, with a couple of guys having knocks.
“Perhaps some were fatigued a bit from playing three in three days, so it was a good chance to roll and take the pressure off.”
The Tigers are back in action this weekend, when they travel to face Guildford on Saturday, before Sunday’s visit of Sheffield Steeldogs to Telford Ice Rink (6pm). For tickets, go to www.tigershockeyuk.com.
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