Aberdeen Lynx skipper Christian Johnson thinks the team need to “keep pushing” in their final two Scottish National League (SNL) matches.
After a tight loss to Paisley Pirates two weekends ago, the Lynx suffered another near miss – being beaten 5-4 by Murrayfield Racers in Edinburgh.
The Granite City side take on Kirkcaldy Kestrels this weekend before meeting Dundee Comets in the City of Discovery to close out the regular league fixtures.
Having only been scheduled to play teams above them in the table in these last four games, the Lynx have had it tough.
Still, Johnson thinks he and his team-mates should still be chasing a scalp to give them confidence for the play-off games.
He said: “Saturday’s match against the Racers was a great game with both sides competing for a win.
“To lose 5-4 on the final whistle was a tough one to take after the boys played so well.
“We played effectively as a team and showed great character to fight back from being behind.
“And l believe we deserved a win from the game.
“Although we are in the middle of a series of tough games we want to keep pushing hard in the last few matches of the season which will lead us into the play-offs. Having a good run will set us up well for these all-important matches as well as the Scottish cup.”
Ahead of meeting Kirkcaldy at the Linx Ice Arena on Saturday, Johnson was complimentary of the Lynx’s rivals and said: “The Kestrels are having one of their best seasons so they will be formidable opponents this weekend in Aberdeen.
“However, we have a great team and our performance has improved in recent months.
“This should make Saturday’s encounter a great game for the boys to play in as well for our fans to watch.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Ice Hockey have confirmed the final four remaining teams in the play-offs will contest finals weekend at Dundee Ice Arena on the weekend of March 30 and 31.
The play-offs see most of the SNL’s teams play out a season-ending, knock-out tournament, with final league positions governing the initial ties.
The two semi-finals will take place on the Saturday, before the showpiece game at 6pm on Sunday.
SIH chairman David Hand said: “The SNL Final Four Weekend is always an excellent event, with the best four play-off sides battling to win the trophy.
“We had three great games last year and it should be no different this time around.”