Title hopefuls Milton Keynes Lightning take on current league leaders Guildford Flames at the Thunderdome this Saturday in a massive fixture, where they’ll be going all out for a  victory that would see them take the top spot in the table. Lightning netminder Alex Mettam says the team will aiming to recreate the performance which saw them beat Paul Dixon’s Flames 6-2 at the Spectrum on New Year’s Day, and helped them defeat both Telford Tigers and Bracknell Bees last weekend.

Guildford have had anything but a happy new year since Mettam and his team-mates recovered quickly from a first period deficit on New Year's Day, to put six goals past last season's play-off winners, douse the Flames' attempted comeback and narrow the gap to the top of the table. Lightning’s victory capped a miserable weekend for Guildford who had lost 5-2 to Basingstoke Bison only 24 hours earlier, and the defeat to Lightning was followed last weekend by a 6-4 away loss to Swindon Wildcats.

Lightning’s Mettam is currently the EPL’s best-performing netminder, part of the league's meanest defence which has conceded only 73 goals in 30 games - 11 fewer than the Flames. "We know we'll have to work hard and make the most of every chance when we play them", he said. "Playing Guildford is never easy - they have a lot of firepower, which is why they've been at the top of the table for so long this season. And after losing three games on the bounce they'll be determined to put things right.

"We had a great game in their barn on New Year's Day, everyone played really well and we want a repeat of that this Saturday. On New Year’s Day we made the most of our chances to score, got a big goal on the powerplay, we were smart defensively clearing our zone, and we were well-disciplined - not taking too many penalties."

After topping the EPL table earlier this season, the Lightning lost ground after a patch of inconsistent form - but thanks to a run of 7 wins from 10 games they now sit only a single point behind leaders Guildford. "We had a good start to the season with some great victories, but finished 2011 with a couple of disappointing losses, where I felt I could maybe have played better", Alex said. "Thankfully we got 2012 going with a bang with that great 6-2 win over the Flames, then we ground out an ugly win in Swindon and took the points really convincingly in the shoot-out. We’ve got a lot of momentum now and we’re all looking forward to the second half of the season”.

MK Lightning is advising supporters who will be attending the home game against Guildford Flames to purchase their tickets before matchnight to avoid long queues at the ticket office on the day – or arrive in plenty of time to avoid being caught in queues when the puck drops. Tickets bought up to the day before any MKL home game can be purchased at last season’s lower prices. The Planet Ice ticket office is open during all public skating sessions; for daily ticket office opening hours, go to www.planet-ice.co.uk/arena/Milton_Keynes.   Doors open on matchnight at 6.00pm with both teams on the ice just 15 minutes later, with face-off at 7.00pm.