Payette wary of Warriors’ threat
PIRATES MUST STEP IT UP IN SEMI-FINAL TEST, SAYS BOSS
ANDRE Payette says Hull Pirates will face a big test of their play-off credentials against Whitley Warriors this weekend.
As National North One champions, Pirates will start as red-hot favourites to book their place in the Northern final against either Sheffield Steeldogs or Telford Tigers.
However, Whitley, who finished fifth in the league, have already caused an upset by beating Solway Sharks 10-9 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.
“It’s Whitley’s Stanley Cup final, they will give us everything they have,” said commercial manager and former Whitley player Payette.
“It’ll be a hostile environment on Sunday. It’s probably the toughest place to go in British ice hockey. It’s an awful, nasty place for visitors and Whitley are a physical team. We will need to make sure we put the screws on them on Saturday at our place. “Whitley have some guys who can step up like Sam Zajac and David Longstaff. They are a dangerous team, to be fair.
“We cannot look past them it will be a tough, tough test for us. “But it’s what we need. They will leave it all out there. They know if they lose they are going home and so do we.”
The Warriors will certainly be a step up in class from Sutton Sting, who Pirates demolished 29-4 on aggregate to book their place in this weekend’s semi-finals.
And if Pirates maintain Andre Payette their current run of form they should have too much in the tank.
Their task, though, will prove more difficult if they are still without key defencemen Jamie Chilcott and Kevin Phillips, who missed last weekend’s clashes with the Sting due to head injuries.
“We definitely think we are going to win, but you have to play the games and as Whitley showed against Solway, who would have thought they would beat Solway 6-1 in the first leg, but they did,” said Payette.
“We will have to be ready. If we beat Whitley on aggregate we will go through to face either Sheffield or Telford. We have no intention of going into the Play-off Final Four weekend in Coventry as losers.
“We want to win the Northern Play-off Trophy and go to Coventry as both league and play-off champions.”
Saturday’s first leg at Hull Arena will face off at 6pm, with Sunday’s second leg in Whitley at 5pm.