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In-form Phoenix take on Milton Keynes Lightning and Slough Jets

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J Davidson sponsored Manchester Phoenix will be looking to continue their winning start to the season with a difficult trip to Coventry to face Nick Poole’s Lightning on Saturday.

Games between the two sides are always entertaining and this weekend’s clash should be no exception. The Buckinghamshire outfit, playing out of Coventry this season while their home rink is re-furbished, have had a mixed start to the season, winning their first two games but suffering a double loss to Basingstoke Bison last weekend.

Player Coach Nick Poole retained three of last season’s imports, Blaz Emersic, Janne Jokila and Lukas Zatopek and recruited Slovakian forward Stanislav Lascek. Nick has also registered himself as injury cover. With top British players Leigh Jamieson, Tom Carlon and skipper Adam Carr, they will undoubtedly be challenging at the business end of the league again this year.

Slough Jets pay their second visit to the Dome on Sunday with the usual 1730hrs face off. Slava Koulikov’s troops have not had the best of starts to the season but always give Phoenix a tough game. Darius Pliskauskas is a dangerous forward who is capable of opening up any defence and defenders Tomas Fojtik and Mindi Kieras are key men on the blue line. The Jets are in an unfamiliar position at the bottom of the table and Slava will be working hard to turn things around.

Coach Hand commented on the weekend’s fixtures:

“There are no easy weekends in this league and Milton Keynes are a good side. Slough made things tough for us at home a couple of weeks ago and I am expecting the same again. We are playing well and I am happy with the way things are going. We are a match for any team in the league.”