Leeds Knights face toughest weekend of the season in double-header against Basingstoke Bison

Saturday night’s NIHL National clash in Hampshire is the first instalment of another double-header weekend for the Knights - their third this season - the second part being staged at Elland Road Ice Arena tomorrow (face-off 6.30pm).

After taking no points on the opening weekend of the season with losses against Bees IHC and Peterborough Phantoms, Ashley Tait’s team have won five from six, leaving them fourth in the standings, four points adrift of joint-leaders the Knights who, like Milton Keynes Lightning, have set the early pace by winning their first seven games.

Tait, a former GB international and prolific points-scorer for the likes of Sheffield Steelers, Nottingham Panthers and Coventry Blaze during his career, is regarded as one of the most talented players ever to emerge from these shores in the last 20 years.

This season sees him make the move behind the Bison bench full-time, having spent the past three seasons as player-coach.

Home ice advantage is often regarded as crucial in hockey and in Bison’s case it is particularly true, the Knights having to make a 450-mile round coach trip to a rundown rink which has them housed in two changing rooms.

Aldridge knows the Bison will come out hard, desperate to be the team that ends his players’ unbeaten start.

“Ashley Tait has been around the game a long time, he’s played at an unbelievable level for many years,” said Aldridge.

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“He’s a super-talented hockey player and I would say Ash just being on the bench is working for them this year. They’ve had a really good start.

“We’re going into a building that’s not great, the boards are on a slant and it’s hard to play a real hockey game in there.

“They are good in that rink and they will play with good systems but we know they are going to come out and play hard and we’ve got to be ready for that.”

Aldridge says the double-header will represent a tough mental challenge for his players.

“It’s a long bus trip, we go into two changing rooms instead of one when we get there and that automatically has an effect on you as a team,” added the Knights’ head coach.

“It will be a big test for us and Saturday, in their rink, will be the biggest test of the year for us, how we handle it mentally.

“Then we’ve got another long trip back before playing them at home on the Sunday. It’s a tough weekend for us in so many different ways.”