Telford Tigers’ captain Jason Silverthorn will use this weekend’s challenge games against MK Lightning to send out a message to the rest of the EPL.

The Tigers face Lightning in Milton Keynes on Saturday evening, before the return encounter at Telford Ice Rink the following day.

Silverthorn will lead a squad that is eyeing silverware this year, following a summer of careful recruitment by Head Coach Tom Watkins.

He said: “There’s still a lot to come from this squad and we’ve only been together for a week. It has been hard, training twice a day over the four days.

“But once the guys settle in and get their game legs back, then we’ll be crisper, smoother and much faster.

“It’s early days at the moment, but it is very encouraging. We’ve been training at seriously good speeds and it has been intense all the way through.

“As a group, we want to hit the ground running and become a force to be reckoned with.”

They will play a Lightning side that beat them over two legs in last season’s play-offs, although Silverthorn is unconcerned about previous results.

“Last season was last season and this is a new group of guys – Tommy has brought in some really good players, so it’s a different team,” he added.

“We’re putting last season behind us and looking forward by building every day and getting better as part of that process.

“It’s looking good at the moment and the guys are coming together really well. The new guys have fitted in really well.

“It’s been good to get to know them off the ice, and spend a lot of time together. That is one of the reasons for a good pre-season.”

(Image permission: Steve Brodie)