It's been another difficult week for the club .We had to put behind us the disappointment of not taking any points from Edinburgh and set ourselves up to face Manchester in the Cup and then take on the current League leaders , Sheffield, followed by a long trip away to Newcastle on Sunday.

After Christmas, all games are played with a greater intensity and have an added significance as teams jostle for favourable league placings in the run-up to the play-offs.

Realistically, the key game for us was the semi-final on Wednesday. We conceded early but I thought that we showed the resilience I've often talked about in the third period. There's a lot to do in the return leg but we haven't written off our chances.

Kevin Reiter's injury has proved to be a real setback for the team, but when he said he would try it out in the Sheffield game we were pleased, but concerned that his decision wasn't premature. He's been undergoing rehab on a regular basis but had only practised four times. He needs time to become match-fit and we had no idea how his ankle would stand up to the rigours of a competitive game.

A skater nursing an injury can miss a shift if necessary or receive treatment on the bench. With a goal-tender, he's out there for sixty minutes and the last thing we wanted to see was Kevin having to leave the game. As it turned out, he picked up the man of the match award in both weekend games.

I thought we played some of our best hockey of the season in the first period and could easily have gone in with a one or two-goal advantage. Would the game have taken a different course if that had happened? Sheffield came back strongly after that and showed why they top the table. When we are struggling to score, it's hard to come up against a goaltender recording his sixth shut-out of the season. I think the title is Sheffield's to lose now .

I think the whole team played with more confidence and more consistency against Newcastle and we want to build on that this weekend. The arrival of fresh players has given us all a lift.

I know Paul Thompson hasn't given up on securing that top spot with his Coventry team so Saturday night should see some great hockey.