Sheffield Steeldogs v Swindon Wildcats: Steeldogs getting back in the groove ahead of NIHL National Cup semi-final

The Steeldogs head into the first leg of the NIHL National Cup semi-final at home to Swindon Wildcats tomorrow night (face-off 7.30pm) in fine form, having won six of their last seven games.

Last weekend saw them put down a marker in the regular season campaign when beating top three sides Milton Keynes Lightning and Telford Tigers.

The win on the road against leaders and defending league champions Telford was particularly pleasing as they came from 4-1 down to win 6-5 in overtime.

With 12 games to play and still sitting eight points behind the Tigers in fourth, Wood knows his team’s chances of lifting the regular season crown remain slim.

But this weekend presents an opportunity to continue chasing a different piece of silverware, with Telford already in the final, waiting to play whoever emerges victorious after tomorrow night’s second leg in Wiltshire.

“We started off the season in such strong fashion and we were playing with such confidence,” said Wood. “Then we went through our injury problems and Covid and we lost our way a little bit, we lost our identity and the way we played that had made us successful.

“So it’s good to see that we are starting to find that rhythm again and you can see the confidence returning for guys, where they are almost expecting to win every game - much like we were at the start of the season.

“We’re doing pretty good and last weekend was excellent, obviously, beating Milton Keynes and Telford. That was a tough weekend, so to come out of it with maximum points was pretty amazing.”

As of Wednesday night, there were just a handful of tickets left for tonight’s encounter at Ice Sheffield, ensuring a bumper crowd of around 1,500 will be inside to cheer the hosts on.

“It is great that we’ve almost got a sellout,” added Wood. “I spoke to Ali (Cree, co-owner) on Wednesday and he said there were about 100 tickets left. So the owners and everybody else have done a fantastic job of marketing the game and getting bodies in.

“When you’re in with a chance of winning any silverware, it’s special. It’s the whole reason everybody plays sport - to win things. We’ve done well to put ourselves in a position to challenge for this trophy by reaching the semi-final, so we’re going to make sure we give it everything.”

Wood is still missing forward James Spurr, out injured since mid-December, but said the 32-year-old is expected to be back skating next week.