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Lankshear in "let me play" plea

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Injured defenceman Mike Lankshear will plead with Phoenix coach Paul Heavey to include him in the Phoenix line-up for their vital Elite League clash against the Nottingham Panthers on Wednesday night.

Lankshear has been out of action since picking up a groin strain, ironically in Nottingham on February 21st in a 7-5 loss to the Panthers in the National Ice Centre.

Head coach Paul Heavey speaking on Sunday noted, "Lanks might be ready for Wednesday, he's still sore and I don't want to risk setting him back in terms of his fitness - we'll just have to see how he goes in training and we'll make a decision on the night. I know he wants to play But I think London on Friday is probably more realistic.”

Twenty-five year old Lankshear, from Burlington, Ontario, skated before last Sunday's tie against Cardiff and commented; "It's getting better with every day that goes by. Last week, it was really painful and I wasn't too hopeful at all of playing on Wednesday, but I want to play Wednesday and I'll be telling Paul just that at Tuesday's practise.”

He added, "The guys picked up two points this weekend, but we need to win on Wednesday to put the other teams under some pressure before the weekend. With me out, Rick (Brebant) and Mike (Morin) have dropped back on defence, but the team needs them in their favoured positions as forwards. I want to play. We've got five games left in the regular season and we've got to do whatever it takes and if that means playing at 80% I'll do it. We want to make the playoffs not just for ourselves, but for the fans and everyone who has worked so hard for the club in a tough first season.”

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