ICE HOCKEY: Aldridge demands Cats reaction (From Swindon Advertiser)

ICE HOCKEY: Aldridge demands Cats reaction

9:00am Friday 30th December 2011 in Ice Hockey By Andy Warren

HEAD coach Ryan Aldridge is hoping to see a reaction from his Swindon Wildcats players when they host Slough Jets at the Link Centre tonight (face-off 7.45pm).

Wildcats went down to a disappointing 6-1 home defeat to Basingstoke on Tuesday night, as the hosts began their busy festive period in the worst possible fashion.

They have the chance to quickly put it right, though, and Aldridge is expecting his side to put in a much improved display when they go head to head with the second placed Jets.

“We have got to compete more, and that is what I will say to them before we go to the ice,” Aldridge told the Advertiser.

“We will have a chat before the game and the players will know what we expect from them, and we need them to deliver.

“We have been a strange side this year, and we seem to get too excited when we win, and take it too hard when we lose. We need to find some consistency, because it is starting to get to an important part of the season.

“We need to compete in every game, and play the same way each time. I am not saying we don’t try every time we take to the ice, but we need to show the same consistency in every game.”

In a double header earlier in the season, Wildcats bounced back from a 7-3 home defeat to Slough to then claim a 3-0 away win, and Aldridge would love to replicate what was arguably their most impressive result of the season.

“We played very well that night, and we would love to do it again. Slough are near the top of the table for a reason, and we will need to break them down,” he said.

“They have a very good offence and a good goalie, so we will need to target their defence and play very low. To be successful against Slough you need to get to their net and bring a fair bit of traffic, so that is where we will be looking to go.”

Wildcats could have a new netminder for tomorrow night’s game after regular stopper Tom Murdy was forced from the ice during the defeat to Basingstoke due to injury.

Aldridge has a target in mind and, if he arrives in time, will compete with Graham Bird for a starting spot.

Nick Compton could return after missing a run of games with concussion, and will be assessed by a doctor and the Cats’ medical staff before being allowed to return.