Sheffield Steeldogs v Romford Raiders: Slava Koulikov aware of threat posed by Raiders

The Steeldogs enter the first game at Ice Sheffield tonight (7.30pm) three points ahead of their London rivals, the only team who can rob them of a place at Coventry’s SkyDome Arena on April 18.

But don’t expect Steeldogs’ head coach Slava Koulikov or any of his players to take anything for granted over the next 72 hours.

During the regular season, the teams met five times and while the Steeldogs may have won four of those encounters, two came in overtime.

Koulikov is under no illusions over the challenge his team faces this weekend, but he is also confident that his players can get the job done.

“In our match-up against Romford this year, I think there were at least three overtimes, maybe four, so there were some close games and I'm sure they will be up for it and we will be up for it,” said Koulikov.

“It's about keeping your feet on the ground and playing the game that we play - nothing changes, it's another opponent in front of us in our goal to achieve Coventry, so we have to be at our best.”

Romford arrive in South Yorkshire having kept their hopes alive of making the semi-finals for the second time in three years by winning 5-3 at Peterborough Phantoms, ending their hosts’ play-off hopes in the process.

Their other point came from an overtime defeat at league champions and play-off Group A leaders Swindon Wildcats. Two regulation wins will see them edge out the Steeldogs.

“The league season provided enough proof that you cannot take a night off,” added Koulikov, who has already led the Steeldogs to the NIHL National Cup title this season.

“We learned that lesson in some way earlier on in the season. So if you're not ready to do the fundamentals, if you're not ready to play, everything else goes out of the window because any team can beat any other team in this league.

“You’ve got to fight for everything and I’m confident that if we're all switched on and fight, it's in our hands, simple as that.”