Peterborough Phantoms coach remains happy with his side’s form in a tough schedule

The city side played poorly in a 4-0 defeat in South Yorkshire, but bounced back to beat Leeds Knights 6-4 in a thrilling contest at Planet Ice 24 hours later after trailing 4-3 heading into the final period.

That win helped Phantoms continue their climb up the table.

They start the weekend games at Swindon on Saturday (November 27) and at home to the Romford-based Raiders on Sunday (5.30pm) fifth in a nine-team division.

It promises to be a tough couple of days for Koulikov’s side as free-scoring Swindon are second and Raiders have already won once at Planet Ice this season, a 4-3 game in October.

Koulikov said: “Last weekend was an interesting one. We had an off night on Saturday, which happens every now and then, but then on Sunday we showed more of the form that’s got us some wins on the board over the last few weekends.

“We know Swindon are a team full of firepower. Their special teams are strong and they’re always capable of putting the puck in the net. We know we’re going to have to play a solid game defensively, try and stay out of the penalty box where possible and capitalise on the chances we create for ourselves.

“Raiders are always a difficult team to play against. They’ve shown already this season they’re capable of beating anyone in this league. The competitiveness of the league is really good, but we’ll focus on Saturday to try and get the two points, then set out our game plan for Sunday when the time comes.

“Our fans were brilliant again at both of our games last weekend.

“They travelled in good numbers to Sheffield and really supported the team well on Sunday night as well.

“They’re really important to us and what we do because they do spur the guys on when they’re getting tired towards the end of games.”