CLUBS are always trying to find new ways to reach their supporters and our last two fixtures have been streamed live over the internet.

I think this is a really good thing as it means fans can watch the game, even when the team is away from home. It’s a good way for teams to try to keep people interested.

Teams are quite good at selling a game as a one-off night to go and watch, so being able to show away games for fans at home who can’t travel, or even fans who can’t make the home game, is a good option to have.

It’s also a bit more professional. Everything in the league is slowly moving more professional and the major thing is the media coverage, so live streaming is a big step in the right direction.

Ice hockey fixtures are almost seen as a Saturday night and that’s it. This gives the continuity of following the team away from home and how they are getting on.

We do a highlights package at the Wildcats and almost every team in the league do highlights packages.

Things like that will hopefully build a bit more interest from the fans and allow them to feel more involved. It’s a good way for them to build up their experience of the sport.

The BBC have also been showing more ice hockey, they showed Great Britain’s Olympic Qualifiers and the Elite League Cup final was also streamed online.

All these things will help build the profile of ice hockey in this country. The more people who we can reach through things like live streaming the better.

People start to know about the sport, become interested in it and then hopefully you can build a fan base.

It is a bit of give and take as well, as you’d hope there aren’t people who think they won’t travel to a game and will just watch the live stream.

It’s a balance as you do want the away support and the Wildcats usually do a have a big away support, even on the long journeys.

With the atmosphere and everything that comes with it, it is still always better to actually be at the game.