The TSI World Bees will take on the Raiders IHC on Friday at the Sapphire and then will will return to the Slough Ice Arena on Sunday to take on the Solway Sharks for this first time this season at home after a 4-1 victory against the Sharks in Dumfries last weekend.

The last time the Bees and Raiders faced off against each other was in the Everyone One Active Cup and the Raiders walked away with the shield after a 2-2 draw in Slough in the first leg and a 5-2 victory against the Bees on their home ice. The Raiders currently find themselves 8th in the league right now in comparison to the Bees who are 5th.

There are many things that the Bees will need to watch out for in their away fixture against the Raiders and one of those will be Jake Sylvester at face-off. When the Raiders are in the Bees’ defensive zone, if they win the face-off the puck automatically gets passed to Jake Sylvester to create a chance for the Raiders and most of the time this is a very effective play. The Raiders defence is also tactical on the penalty kill – being able to shut down key Bees players that may be an issue.

Ones to watch during the game will be Thomas Relf and Jake Sylvester as these two will contribute a lot to the game that could easily dictate outcome of a game.

Last time the Bees played against the Solway Sharks was last weekend with the Bees taking the 4-1 win in Dumfries. During this game we got to see how the Sharks play as they are new to the league. The penalty kill is a very strong part of the Solway gameplay as they are able to shut down plays very quickly and players like Liam Stenton showed in the previous game that they will put their bodies on the line to stop chances progressing in the Sharks’ defensive zone.

The Sharks currently find themselves in 11th place within the league and are still fighting to secure their first points of the season after a losing streak in their league campaign. Ones to watch at the home game on Sunday will be Liam Stenton and Mason Alderson as both of these players added a lot to the Sharks game last Saturday. Liam Stenton was quick on the puck to prevent the Bees being able to push into the offensive zone while also making incredible defensive plays that definitely had an impact on the score by the end of the game. Mason Alderson played a particular role in pushing the Bees net to try to get the puck close enough to the net to tip it in and this will be something the Bees defence needs to stop from happening as if it is done effectively it could cost the Bees.