Homegrown Bobby Streetly aiming to boost Leeds Chiefs' standing

After yesterday’s announcement by the club that their first four scheduled home games will now be played across the Pennines at rinks in Blackburn and Widnes, it is now expected to be early December before Sam Zajac’s team get the chance to skate out in front of their own fans at the brand new Elland Road venue.

The visit on Sunday, December 1 by Milton Keynes Lightning is the one that most Chiefs’ fans will have now tentatively put in their diaries.

It is the latest setback to befall the Chiefs, who after seeing an initial opening date of August for the rink come and go, have been forced to play the first 10 games of their NIHL National campaign on the road.

At the sixth time of asking, Zajac’s team chalked up their first win with a comprehensive 4-0 win at Romford-based Raiders IHC on Sunday night and they will hope to build on that when they take to the road again this weekend to face Swindon Wildcats and Yorkshire rivals Hull Pirates.

But even though the hoped-for home opening night of Sunday, November 3 against Sheffield Steeldogs has now gone, Leeds-born defenceman Bobby Streetly is convinced that when that magic moment comes to skate out in front of their own fans, it will be all the more sweeter.

“It is frustrating not being able to play there yet, but we’ve started to find our feet a little bit now and after being close to winning, we finally got on the board with that first win on Sunday,” said 25-year-old Streetly.

“Obviously, the sooner we can get in there and start training regularly and trying to establish that home ice advantage the better.

“But you just get on with it – it is just one of those things. We’ve got a good, strong group and everybody is sticking together and everybody is happy. We enjoy being around each other.

“As long as we can maintain that spirit and keep grinding out a few more good results on the road that will set us up nicely for when we do step out at Elland Road.

“And when that happens, I’ll admit, it’s going to make it even more special. It will be a big day for me personally, but it will also be a big day for this city.”

Streetly, who came through the junior ranks at Bradford Bulldogs and has spent the majority of his senior career at Blackburn Hawks, has been heartened by the start made by the Chiefs in their inaugural campaign, despite the fact their first six games have only heralded the one win.

He believes that once they can start to develop their own home ice advantage at Elland Road, the Chiefs can be a serious play-off contender.

“We’ve been there or thereabouts in most games and haven’t been outplayed by anybody yet,” he added. “To say we’ve only been on the ice for about half the time of all the other teams in this league – in terms of practice and pre-season – it already bodes well for the rest of the season.

“It proves the team Sammy has put together is going to do the business when we finally get that extra ice time in Leeds and start having two to three practise sessions each week and playing two, sometimes three games a week – especially when we have big blocks of home games.”