Tigers chief Tom Watkins hailed a “massive two points” for his men after they extended their lead at the top of the EPL with a 6-3 win over Hull Pirates on Wednesday night.
Victory on Humberside means Telford are now eleven points clear at the top of the standings, although second-placed Milton Keynes have three games in hand.
Photo credit Lois Tomlinson
And with just over six weeks of the season remaining, Watkins believes the win leaves them well-placed to maintain that margin.
He said: “It was a massive two points on the road for us tonight and at this time of the year it’s not how, but how many they always say.
“We were a bit slow out of the blocks in the first period, but overall I’m really pleased with how we played.
“We scored a couple of powerplay goals and our penalty killing was kicking along real nice. We’ve had a great streak where we haven’t conceded on the penalty kill, but Nathan Salem popped up and ended that.
“Our neutral zone play was really good. We deflected a lot of pucks wide and were able to send pucks 200 feet down the ice.”
The first period saw Telford fall behind after just five minutes, thanks to a controversial opening goal from the Pirates.
A pile-up in front of the net saw Lee Haywood score from close range, with suggestions the puck had been deflected into the net.
Telford had the better scoring opportunities later in the period, with Doug Clarkson missing out from close range on 14 minutes, following a pinpoint pass from Corey McEwen.
And that pressure was rewarded just moments later when a fine powerplay move was finished off by Clarkson, who fired home from behind the Hull netminder.
Clarkson was involved in Telford’s second goal of the night just after the interval, when his pass set up McEwen to score from close range.
The Tigers extended their lead on 28 minutes, when Matty Davies took advantage of a Hull defensive error to scramble the puck home.
But the Pirates hit back almost straight away, thanks to a powerful slapshot strike from Ugnas Cizas.
Telford, however, regained their two-goal cushion just after the halfway point of the game, Davies again taking advantage of poor defending to score from a rebound.
Watkins added: “How good was Matty Davies for us tonight? He played solid and it wasn’t just the points he scored.
“He blocked shots, he won face-offs and was tenacious on the forecheck, but he also added a lot of offensive capability.
“It was also good to see Corey McEwen back on the scoresheet, and that line really was the difference for us.”
The visitors added a fifth at the start of the final session, following a persistent drive to the Pirates net from Davies.
But Hull again hit back with eight minutes remaining, thanks to captain Nathan Salem.
Jason Silverthorn, however, scored Telford’s sixth goal of the night with just five minutes remaining to round off the evening.
“Mentally, that goal at the start of the third period just gave Hull a bigger margin to chase,” Watkins said.
“I don’t think we really gave up any quality scoring opportunities and tried to play the third period smarter than we did the first.”
The Tigers are back in action this weekend, when they travel to face Basingstoke Bison on Saturday, before Sunday’s visit of Peterborough Phantoms to Telford Ice Rink (6pm).
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