Captain set to return from suspension

Romford Recorder: London Raiders captain Tom Davis in action against MK Thunder earlier this month (pic: John Scott)London Raiders captain Tom Davis in action against MK Thunder earlier this month (pic: John Scott) (Image: Archant)

London Raiders captain Tom Davis is looking forward to getting back on the ice after a two-match suspension as his side push for a National League play-off place.

Davis sat out last weekend’s double-header with Streatham, having incurred a ban in the previous weekend’s defeat at Oxford.

But Raiders skated to a 6-3 home win at Lee Valley on Saturday, before letting a 5-0 lead slip in a 6-5 defeat in south London the following night.

Davis believes Raiders can set the record straight when the Redskins visit again this Saturday, before travelling to Oxford on Sunday. He said: “This weekend will be a weekend to get those points back as we face them again on Saturday and I know we can do that.

“Sunday will be interesting as it’s the return to Oxford. Once again, though, I’m very confident we can grab the two points and start climbing our way up the table.

“I’ve already seen a few comments from other teams saying they wouldn’t want to face the new Raiders in the play-offs.”

New import signing Jakub Kostelansky netted just 34 seconds into his debut to inspire Raiders to victory last Saturday.

The Slovakian struck again to seal the 6-3 success, after Alan Lack, Jacob Ranson (2) and Grant Taylor had also netted.

Davis added: “Saturday was a big night for us with almost a full squad and also the debut of Jakub.

“And what a result it was for us. A huge two points with all three lines playing their part.

“The first line looked like scoring every time they were on the ice, with two goals each from Ranson and Jakub.

“And the second line also put up some goals, which I hear were very nicely done.”

Kostelansky was on target twice more on Sunday, with linemate Liam Chong also netting a brace and Lack helping to build a 5-0 lead.

But Streatham netted four times in seven minutes late in the second period to raise their hopes and Raiders, without injured import defenceman Vaclav Drabek, concede twice more in the final stanza.

To run salt in the wounds, former Raider Jakub Klima netted the late winner for the Redskins and Davis added: “We stormed into a huge 5-0 lead on Sunday so we are now showing the capability to score goals.

“Unfortunately Streatham hit back with the speed and depth their team has.”