Jeremy Cornish has challenged Streatham IHC to catch Invicta Dynamos in the race for the runners-up spot in NIHL1 South.
Streatham’s 4-3 victory over Invicta last weekend moved them three points behind the Kent outfit with two games in hand.
Cornish wants his team to capitalise on that result when they face MK Thunder and London Raiders this weekend.
“The team is getting better every week and we really want to get that second spot in the league,” he told London News Online.
“Invicta are always a tough match and we did a great job keeping the shots against us down and making sure we got the points.
“We also play them in the cup semi-final in a couple of weeks, so psychologically it was important to continue our good run of results against them.
“This weekend is vital if we want to secure second place. Both games will be tricky, but if we have a good week at training we should be prepared and ready to get four points.”
London forward Brandon Miles is eyeing revenge when the Raiders host champions Chelmsford Chieftains on Saturday.
The Raiders lost 5-3 at Chelmsford last weekend, but Miles believes they are capable of springing a surprise ahead of next week’s two-legged cup semi-final against the Chieftains.
“My thoughts on the Chelmsford game were all positives – we went on a road trip into the league champions’ arena and put on a good performance,” he told the Romford Recorder.
“We could have been better at times, taking out key players of their team in our defensive zone, but our defence played exceptionally well given the fact we have a couple of guys carrying injuries.
“We have to play them another three times, so that was a great way to prepare and finalise what we need to do when we play them again this weekend.”
Slough Jets’ boss Tony Milton believes surviving to the end of the season would be a major accomplishment for the D2S club.
The Jets’ season has been severely disrupted as they await the opening of their temporary rink, with last week’s 6-2 defeat at Invicta Mustangs their sixth league defeat in a row.
“This season is all about keeping the club going and for us that’s an achievement,” Milton told the Slough Observer.
“We could so easily not have entered the league this year, but we’ve managed to keep on going.
“We will soon have our home ice back and continuity for next season. Any kind of win is some achievement for us as we were not expecting to win the league this season.
“In the next couple of weeks we will look to get our fitness back and steal a few points off teams. That’s what we will look to achieve this year.”
WEEKEND FIXTURES
NIHL1 South
Saturday
Bracknell Hornets v Invicta Dynamos
London Raiders v Chelmsford Chieftains
MK Thunder v Streatham IHC
Sunday
MK Thunder v Oxford City Stars
Solent Devils v Chelmsford Chieftains
Streatham IHC v London Raiders
NIHL2 South
Saturday
Bristol Pitbulls v Wightlink Buccaneers
Chelmsford Warriors v Haringey Racers
Invicta Mustangs v Peterborough Islanders
Sunday
Cardiff Fire v Swindon Wildcats NIHL
Lee Valley Lions v Slough Jets
Peterborough Islanders v Chelmsford Warriors
(Image permission: David Trevallion)
