Ice Hockey
Thompson demands a performance in Hull

Buy photos »

BLAZE head coach Paul Thompson is demanding a positive reaction from his players when they travel to Hull Stingrays this evening in the Elite League.

Blaze suffered back-to-back defeats to title-chasing Nottingham Panthers last week and head to the Hull Arena having lost six of their last seven matches on the road.

But Thompson is confident his side can turn their away form around and put pressure on the top four.

"I want to see a big reaction," said Thompson. "To be the best you need to be ruthless and take your opportunities and we have been working on that this week.

"When you are on the road it is about being mentally tough and having the right mental approach towards the game. You have to do whatever it takes to be successful.

"Hull have been a tough team for everyone this season but we just need to be more ruthless. We have been creating good scoring chances but have been too soft around the net.

"The guys we have are a good bunch and they want to win and their pride gets hurt when they lose. We played solid back-to-back games in Belfast recently without getting any reward – but we need to bring that every night."