Milton Keynes Lightning continue their title push against Telford Tigers this weekend knowing they cannot underestimate the threat that their visitors pose, despite their position close to the bottom of the league (Sunday 20 November, face off 5.30pm).

The Tigers last came to the Thunderdome in early October and despite Lightning taking the two points from that encounter with a 3-0 shut-out, the home side were pushed hard by an ambitious Tigers side eager to make an impression.  Tom Watkins’ young team put the Lightning  goal under pressure for much of the game, registering 12 more shots than went the other way, and were arguably unlucky not to have got more from the fixture.

The Shropshire side are certainly capable of converting shots into goals, and have proved that with five goals past Sheffield Steeldogs, six past Bracknell Bees and seven past Slough Jets in recent weeks. 

“We took the two points from Telford last time they came here, but they made us work hard for the full 60 minutes”, said Lightning’s player-coach Nick Poole.  “We allowed them a little too much time on the puck and they weren’t afraid to take their chances.   They’re a young, ambitious side and some of their recent results have shown they’re definitely capable of putting goals away.  They had a slow start to the season with some big defeats, but have been unlucky to lose some of their recent fixtures by only narrow margins.  But those odd goals can make the difference between points or no points, so we’ll be going all out to stop Telford putting us under pressure, and keep the points in Milton Keynes.

“The league is so tight currently that every single point counts, and we were really pleased to come out of the Guildford double-header with three points from four, despite their overtime goal.  Both teams had plenty of fans there but our supporters were absolutely superb.  It was amazing to see the away seats at the Spectrum so full despite the long journey, and they kept up the noise for the whole game.  It was good to be able to give them something to really cheer about!”

The Tigers were rocked recently by the departure of promising young Brit forward Andy McKinney to Hull Stingrays, only weeks after fellow forward Dean Holland returned to his native north-east, and Czech defenceman Jiri Hanzal was released after struggling to settle in.  The Tigers still have four imports, however – including Canadian netminder Greg Blais who arrived during the close season and also acts as the team’s assistant coach.
 
The puck drops against Telford Tigers at Planet Ice Milton Keynes at 5.30pm on Sunday 20 November.