JORDAN Hedley hopes to make the most of Stevie Lyles’s absence this weekend and stake his claim to be the Swindon Wildcats’ regular netminder.

Veteran stopper Lyle has been called up to the Great Britain squad for this week’s Olympic pre-qualifiers in Italy and will miss the Cats’ triple header of English Premier League fixtures.

Aaron Nell’s side travel to league leaders Basingstoke Bison on Friday and second-placed Milton Keynes Lightning the following day, before a return fixture against Basingstoke at the Link Centre on Sunday.

Great Britain Under 20 international Hedley has largely played understudy to 36-year-old Lyle this season, having joined the Cats from Milton Keynes over the summer.

Although the club view the 19-year-old as Lyle’s long-term replacement, Hedley is hoping to prove he is more than ready to step into the breach now.

“It should be a good weekend for me. I’m going to play the three games and I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said Hedley.

“I work hard in practice and try to push him but Stevie is having a fantastic season and I understand why he is the number one.

“He has got a lot of experience and is a great goalie so it’s great to work so closely with him and be able to learn from him.

“It’s been a good season so far and although I haven’t played as much as I would want, I have still played a few games.

“I am going to play a few more games this weekend and this is my chance to show that I can play against the bigger teams and show Aaron that he can trust me in the big games.”

Hedley is not being thrown between the pipes raw as he has started the Cats’ two recent wins away at bottom side Bracknell Bees.

“It has been good to be back on the ice in the last few weeks. I’ve had a bit of time without playing but having those couple of games are going to be good for me,” added Hedley.

“I’ve spoken to Aaron and this weekend he’s just asked me to play how I normally play, there’s no extra pressure on me. I’m confident in my own ability and I know I can play well.”

Although well aware that the challenge facing the Cats this weekend could not be more difficult, Hedley says the team must remain positive of a good run of results.

“I think we can compete in every game. We want to win every game we play but we’ve got to be looking to get four points this weekend, I think that’s the minimum,” said Hedley.

“As long as we play like we did against Guildford we’re going to be in with a good chance.

“We need to start well in the Friday game, that’s important to give us some momentum for the rest of the weekend.”