Swindon Wildcats forward Ben Davies was pleased to get a couple of games under his belt – but admits there’s work to be done after their two losses to Sheffield Steeldogs.
Aaron Nell’s men are back in action to face Bees in a double header, starting at The Link Centre on Saturday before they do it all again in Slough on Sunday.
And Davies was pleased to have the regular routine of hockey practice and the build-up to a game, not to mention the matches themselves, back in his schedule.
“A lot of our team hadn’t been on the ice much since the Streaming Series back in November so it was definitely good to get some game experience under our belts,” he said.
If you tuned into the stream on Saturday, you would have witnessed the best save so far in the Spring Cup 👀
Block E crew sponsored Renny Marr pulled a spectacular save out of no where.👏
Witness the action this weekend ⬇️
🆚. @BeesIceHockey
🎟 https://t.co/RSpW5EF8as pic.twitter.com/oLa3KBH9mE— The Bespoke Guardians Swindon Wildcats (@SwinWildcats) February 19, 2021
“Two months off the ice definitely feels like a long time so it was good to get back. There was a lot of rust, certainly in my performance so there are things to work on and we’ve been doing that in practice. It was two losses so we want to improve on those.
“Having the routine back is nice and everyone has been trying to keep busy in their own way so to have hockey back is brilliant. It’s just nice to work on the skills and return to where we were last March.
“We’re just putting last week behind us and concentrating on playing Bees this weekend. There was a lot to think about coming off the ice, but in many respects, I’m taking it with a pinch of salt because I haven’t been on the ice that much so I can put that down to rustiness.”
Davies picked up two assists in the two losses against Steeldogs as he looks to get back to game shape, no doubt with a view to being ready for representing Great Britain in the World Championships, assuming he will be selected.
He admits keeping fit generally through lockdowns wasn’t as issue, but now he needs to brush up on the hockey side of his game and reckons Wildcats might have a slight advantage over Doug Sheppard’s men.
Davies (left) is happy with his fitness, but is keen to get his hockey skills sharpened again (PHOTO: Kat Medcroft)
“Staying in shape for myself isn’t too difficult as I’m quite an active person, but trying to replicate the hockey skills when I haven’t been able to go on the ice and skate is difficult, as I found throughout the lockdown,” Davies added.
“That side of it will take a few weeks to get going. General fitness is okay, but it’s more the hockey side and being back playing will help that.
“I don’t know how many practice sessions Bees have had, but we may have a slight advantage because we’ve played the two games while they’re starting cold.
“It’ll go out the window pretty quickly, looking at their team and it’ll be two good games as we try to continue what we’re trying to do in Swindon.”
THIS WEEKEND (Click the fixture for relevant streaming information)
