Telford Tigers dig deep in play-off boost

The victory, helped by a Vladimir Luka hat-trick, pushes Telford closer to their play-off goal and Watkins was pleased with how they responded to initially losing their lead.

He said: “It was not a great performance but we got the job done and we kept our composure after Hull tied the game up.

“That win takes us a step closer to qualifying for the play-offs, which is our goal. That is a big two points and we have now won back-to-back home games.”

Against their bottom-of-the-table opponents, it was a scrappy start to the game before Luka netted his first goal after eight minutes.

Hull equalised three minutes later when Andre Themar was unmarked in front of goal and sent a shot over Brad Day’s shoulder into the net to draw the sides level.

But Luka then struck again to put Telford in the lead three minutes from the end of the period.

That advantage was increased early in the second period when Rory Herrman squeezed the puck home from a tight angle.

But the back and forth action continued as Hull hit back with a second goal that was scored in bizarre circumstances.

Themar broke in on goal and had his shot saved by Day. Jake Price was stood in front of Day and was first to the rebound but in attempting to clear the puck he hit it into the net past Day. With Themar the last Hull player to touch the puck, he was awarded the goal.

Two minutes into the third period,Tigers scored a fourth goal through Fin Howells.

But Hull rallied and scored two goals in quick succession to level the game.

Jordan Fisher netted the first from close range and Emil Svec then shot into an open net after Themar’s cross ice pass found him unmarked in front of the Tigers goal.

Hull had a golden chance to win the game when Lucas Price was called for cross checking with five minutes left but some resolute defending and two saves from Day kept the sides level.

With the game entering the final minute and overtime looming, Tigers took the lead through Howells before Luka wrapped up his hat-trick late on, taking Telford into seventh in the league.