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There it is. In a nutshell.

Leeds Knights coach Ryan Aldridge on the solid foundation driving the bid for NI...

Tonight’s top-two clash between leaders Leeds Knights and Milton Keynes Lightning is about as big as it gets in the NIHL National regular season.

HELLO AGAIN: Leeds Knights and Milton Keynes Lightning go head-to-head again on Friday night at Elland Road Ice Arena. Picture: Aaron Badkin/Knights Media

Whereas last season was a three-horse race between the Knights, the Lightning and Peterborough Phantoms, this time around it is a slightly leaner title rivalry that is capturing everyone’s attention.

Going into the encounter at Elland Road Ice Arena, it is the hosts and reigning champions who are in the boxseat, five points clear of the visitors and with a game in hand.

A win for Leeds will obviously only increase their chances of securing back-to-back regular season crowns.

But there will still be 20 games remaining, plenty of time for the landscape to change, plenty of time for one or two key injuries to impact in either camp and potentially determine who will ultimately prevail. A couple of bad weekends and hopes of lifting silverware could very quickly slip away.

LEVEL HEAD: Leeds Knights' head coach Ryan Aldridge says he nor his players will place too much emphasis on tonight's game at home to second-placed Milton Keynes Lightning. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.

The Knights will not be perfect during the run-in, there will be slip-ups along the way. They could go to Raiders on Sunday night and - like Milton Keynes did only last weekend - come unstuck, against a team desperately battling to make it to the post-season.

No surprise, then, that Leeds’ head coach Ryan Aldridge, is keeping a level head about him, leaving speculation and predictions to fans and assorted media.

“I think sometimes we get caught up in the emotion of these kinds of games,” said Aldridge, following practice earlier this week at ‘The Castle’.

“We are not winning or losing the league on Friday - it is just another hockey game. I don’t think there is any danger of us placing too much emphasis on this one game. We’re not putting our focus on Milton Keynes - it is all about our performance.

“We haven’t had a good start in four games or so now. We need to have a good start, we need to get back to playing our game and that is the focus for the week. It isn’t about Milton Keynes, it’s about us and what we do.”

In terms of the head-to-head series so far, home rule has prevailed in all four games. Leeds will be keen to make it a clean sweep at Elland Road, following their earlier 9-1 and 6-3 victories in front of their own fans.

The two meet for a final time in the regular season on March 16. Will the title race be over by then?

Leeds Knights v Milton Keynes Lightning - Grounded approach should serve Knights well for NIHL National title run-in