We had hoped last Saturday to snap our losing streak when we played Manchester at home.

I know some fans wonder how players can get themselves up for games against opponents who are looking forward to the play-offs which seem seem beyond us. I suspect it's much easier for the players than the fans at present.

Each game is an opportunity for us to put the record straight. Pride and self-respect are powerful motivators when you skate on to the ice. Our problem at the moment is that we are so low in confidence that when we concede a goal our heads drop. We know that we need to perform as a team yet the tendency is to compete more as individuals when it seems that the game is running away from us.

I mentioned a few weeks back how Kevin Reiter would need time to regain his poise and patience after his injury. It's just the same for a team but those are qualities that are hard to find when you feel yourself having to battle and push. We know we should be supporting each other, that five people playing together will always defeat five individuals, however talented they may be. Knowing it and putting it into practice seem beyond us at present.

The mood in the locker room was positive before the game. Instead of beating ourselves up about our defeats we felt that now we could try to relax more and not feel so pressured.

I thought we gave a good account of ourselves in the first period and there were chances on both sides. Manchester's clinical execution of their power play at the end of the first period followed by a third goal right at the beginning of the second period were hammer blows. But I can't fault the guys for effort and we were pleased when our second line picked up a goal before the end of the game.

Corey LeClair has made a great impression since joining us and was a well-deserved man of the match for us. Tony Hand's teams always show poise and patience and in David Beauregard they have an outstanding striker.

As a "small team" we'd like to wish Manchester every success in their cup games against the "big teams". We look forward to ending our season by taking on the top four teams in the league.