Tom Watkins hails Telford Tigers' Deakan Fielder as fists fly

The Tigers fell to a narrow 3-2 defeat on home ice against Milton Keynes Lightning after beating the Raiders on Saturday.

And Fielder dropped his gloves to protect a team-mate after Tim Wallace’s late hit, something his Watkins was proud of.

He said: “Huge Credit goes to Deakan Fielder who stood up for one of his team-mates, no hesitation dropping the gloves and taking on a very experienced guy. That goes a very long way with the rest of the team in the locker room, the coaching staff and of course the fans.”

The Tigers came back from a two-goal deficit to bring the scores level before Milton Keynes added a winner late on.

Watkins continued: “It was a very close game, two good teams who both had good spells during the game. We got a slow start but responded very well after trailing by two goals but winning the second period and tying the game at 2-2 going into the third. I would say we were on our heels early in the third period but responded well as the period went on. I think it could have gone either way.”