HAVING enjoyed their most productive spell of the season with a four-game winning streak going into the Christmas schedule, Hull Seahawks were understandably in buoyant mood.

The majority of the team’s season has been one spent down in the dumps as a host of issues plagued the start of their debut campaign in NIHL National, leaving them rooted to the foot of the table until earlier this month.

A first win didn’t arrive until the 14th outing but, all of a sudden, the play-offs look a realistic proposition for player-coach Matty Davies and his revived roster.

Defeats earlier this week to Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Steeldogs and Leeds Knights were no doubt disappointing, but there is none of the doom and gloom surrounding the organisation as a result, with Davies’s post-match interviews remaining positive affairs – a stark contrast to those earlier in the campaign when the wait for visas for import players Andrej Themar and Emil Svec dragged on and on.

WIN COLUMN: Hull Seahawks will be keen to return to winning ways after a promising run of pre-Christmas form. Picture courtesy of Adam Everitt/Hull Seahawks Media.

Luckily for the Seahawks, they have an opportunity to put the record straight quickly against their White Rose rivals, first at Leeds tomorrow night and then at home to the Steeldogs on Wednesday.

And while a trip to title hopefuls Leeds remains a daunting prospect on paper, it is a proposition Davies believes his players should embrace.

“The fixtures don’t get any easier, obviously,” said Davies, following Thursday night’s 4-1 home defeat to the Knights. “It will be another tough night against them, particularly with it being in ‘The Castle’.

“They will bring it and we’ll have to turn up and work hard to stay in that game and to play with them. They are a different team in their rink – I know that having played there (last season).

HOPEFUL: Hull Seahawks coach is looking for his team to bounce back from defeats to both Leeds Knights and Sheffield Steeldogs. Picture: Alex Tighe/Seahawks Media

“The crowd can get on top of you quite quickly there but it’s good, it’s a good atmosphere, the kind of atmosphere that you want to be playing in.

“For our lads it will be a good test and a good thing to go through.

“It was a tough one to take at ours on Thursday, but we made a better game of it than the other times we’ve played them.

“It was a pretty even game, I don’t think any team was better than the other, it was just that they capitalised on their scoring chances better than we did.”

LEADING LIGHTS: Ryan Aldridge's (left) Leeds Knights will prove a tough nut to crack for Hull Seahawks at Elland Road on Sunday. Picture courtesy of Oliver Portamento

For the visit of the Steeldogs in midweek, Davies would love to see a similar turnout in the stands to the one his team enjoyed against Leeds on Thursday, when it was close to a 2,000-plus sellout.

Davies has played senior hockey in the city for the majority of the past 13 years and is convinced Thursday night was the busiest he had ever seen Hull Ice Arena.

“I thought the crowd was unbelievable,” added Davies. “That’s the busiest I’ve ever seen it and I’ve been here a long time and I have never seen it so full, ever, it was unreal.

“It was basically a sell-out and I’ve not seen a sell-out here since maybe a game against Braehead years ago when it was the Stingrays – but even that (Thursday) felt busier and louder.

“That’s why it was a much harder loss to stomach because we all wanted to put on a massive performance for the fans.”

Before Hull visit Elland Road Ice Arena tomorrow (5.15pm face-off), the Knights make the short trip down the M1 looking to repeat the 4-0 triumph they enjoyed over the Steeldogs on home ice on Tuesday.

The Steeldogs bounced back with a 5-1 win at home to the Seahawks 24 hours later but will be keen to register a first win over the Knights to close the nine-point gap that currently exists between the two teams.

Hull Seahawks intent on launching another winning streak by downing Leeds Knights