Leeds Knights: Swindon Wildcats coach Aaron Nell aware of threat offered by Knights

In fact, Leeds have returned home from both their trips to the Link Centre this season with two points, a 3-2 league win after a shootout coming a month on from when they hammered the hosts 7-3 in the group phase of the Autumn Cup.

For the record, it’s not been all doom and gloom for Nell and his players when facing off against the Knights, Swindon winning both pre-season challenge games by the odd goal before grabbing two points back in the league with a 4-3 win at Elland Road in October.

Since that one-goal home loss to Leeds, Swindon have lost just twice in 16 games, once in overtime, the other following a shootout.

It is an impressive run of form which has catapulted Nell’s team to a position at strength in the regular season NIHL National standings, sitting six points clear of their nearest rivals.

And while Leeds have fared less well since the most recent meeting between the two back on October 24 – their situation not helped by ongoing injury problems – Nell is aware Dave Whistle’s team are now closer to full strength than at any time they have been in the past two months.

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“We haven’t played against them yet when they’ve had injury problems,” said Nell. “We always seem to have played them when they’ve had a full team more or less every time and they have probably been the fastest games we have played all year.

“They were excellent at the start of the year. They almost overpower you with all the speed they have got up front and all that energy with their young players.

“We’ve just got to make sure over the course of the two legs, that we play smart against them. We know we can’t run and gun with them – we tried that at the start of the year and got beat pretty bad, so we’ve got to avoid that this time around.”

After a shaky start to the season in the group phase of the Autumn Cup, his team qualifying in fourth, Nell is understandably pleased with the way his team has gone about their business since, being particularly impressed with their ability to remain focussed on their league campaign while the knowledge of the final was in the background.

“Our players have been really good on focussing on the league in the last 3-4 weeks, knowing that this was coming,” added nell. “But now they can’t wait to play.

“The whole group has been excellent throughout. We’ve been carried by different players at different times. Renny Marr, our goalie, has really been in good form from the start of the year, as has Dean Skinns our other netminder - he was excellent on Saturday (in 5-4 home win over Bees IHC) and won us two points.

“Three or four weeks ago, Emil Svec couldn’t stop scoring - we are getting different guys stepping up all the time. Our D have been excellent, they work so hard and make it so tough to play against us, it’s been a case of everybody chipping in.”