Tigers rout marred by injury to forward
Telford Tigers regained crucial momentum at the top of the English Premier League with a 5-0 demolition of Swindon Wildcats.
But those celebrations – as well as the game itself – were cut short after Scott McKenzie was taken to hospital with an injury in the third period at Telford Ice Rink on Sunday night.
The 28-year-old did, however, return home later that evening following treatment.
The clock was allowed to run down while McKenzie was treated and the result stands, leaving Telford 15 points clear at the top of the league despite their loss to Peterborough Phantoms on Saturday.
The Tigers now need to win just seven of their remaining 12 league games, to be mathematically certain of their first title in 27 years.
Tigers head coach Tom Watkins believes his side showed great character to come back from Saturday's setback at Bretton Road.
He said: "We did an excellent job up to the point of Scott's injury. We controlled the game and took our chances well. We also limited Swindon's opportunities in our own zone.
"We did a lot of good things with the puck and on the rebounds; we got some luck that maybe wasn't there on Saturday evening."
A five-minute spell in the first period saw Telford build a three-goal lead, thanks to Jason Silverthorn, Peter Szabo and Rick Plant.
The hosts extended that advantage in the second session through Blaho Novak and Martin Ondrej.
On Saturday night, meanwhile, a three-goal burst in the first eight minutes looked to have won the game for Peterborough, as they blocked Telford's efforts to gain a foothold.
It wasn't until the 54th-minute that Plant gave his side hope of staging a comeback, with McKenzie adding a second in the closing stages.
A dramatic end to the game saw Watkins pull netminder Tom Murdy, but it wasn't enough to stop the Tigers from falling to their fifth defeat of the season.
Watkins said: "It was like playing on a ploughed field," said Watkins. "We were on the ropes in the first period and killed a lot of penalties. That made it very difficult."
Tigers return to action tomorrow night, travelling to face Guildford Flames in the semi-final of the British Challenge Cup.
Next Saturday, they are also on the road with a trip to Milton Keynes, before hosting the Lightning at Telford Ice Rink on Sunday (5.30pm).
