Defiant Telford Tigers delight Tom Watkins
Telford Tigers coach Tom Watkins has highlighted his side's penalty-killing ability as a key reason behind their current run of form.
A sequence of five successive wins has placed Telford at the top of the EPL form table, and sixth in the overall standings.
The last powerplay converted by a Tigers opponent was during their 8-2 victory over Slough Jets at the turn of the year.
Since then, they have played a remarkable 110 minutes in penalties overall, without conceding a single shorthanded goal.
That run includes last weekend's victories over Bracknell Bees (8-5) and Manchester Phoenix (6-3), when the record eventually came to an end.
Watkins said: "I am really pleased with how our penalty kills have been working over the last month. It has been a whole team effort, from netminders, through defence and to the forwards.
"These guys are making such a big difference. They are going out, blocking shots with their bodies and really putting a huge effort in.
In the end, we lost it to Manchester, but we kept on playing and put ourselves in the way of pucks."
Sunday's victory over the Phoenix was Telford's second this season, following a run of 14 unbeaten home games for Tony Hand's men.
And with the records now showing Telford on equal points with fifth-placed Swindon, Watkins is keen to retain that momentum.
"At the minute it doesn't matter who we play," he added.
"We have beaten all the top three teams over the last few weeks. That has proved to ourselves that we can win, and we can keep it going.
"It is just about playing at our tempo. We are as good as any team in the league, so it comes down performances on the day and work ethic."
