BRACKNELL Bees captain Matt Foord knows his side must stop conceding soft goals if they are to find winning form in the English Premier Ice Hockey League, writes Dave Wright.

They shipped 16 goals in two games last weekend – crashing 8-1 at Basingstoke Bison on Saturday before losing 8-4 to Guildford Flames at The Hive 24 hours later.

After their fourth defeat in a row, Foord commented: “Scoring goals is a positive, which hopefully we can build on, but we do need to tighten up in defence.”

Bees were poor against last season’s league winners Bison, but produced a much better performance against Flames, the League Cup holders and play-off champions.

“It was a good effort; The boys worked hard and it shows we are moving in the right direction,” added Foord.

“We have a new team and we are slowly building.”

The fans certainly appreciated the tremendous effort the Bees put in against Guildford, giving them a standing ovation as they left the ice.

“There was a good atmosphere” added the Bees captain. “We are still here because the fans saved the club. The fans are one of the big reasons why we play and why a lot of us stayed at the club for so long.

“We love it here and appreciate the support of the fans.”

Foord continued: “Next weekend is going to be a big one for us with Manchester back-to-back. Hopefully, we can kick off our season and move forward.”

Like Bees, Phoenix are without a point from their opening four games.

The teams meet at the Fylde Coast Ice Arena at Bispham, near Blackpool, on Saturday (4.30pm) with the return at The Hive on Sunday (6pm).