Leeds Knights' SkyDome familiarity could elevate NIHL National play-off chances

That in itself is an achievement, being the only NIHL National team to do so.

But while Knights’ head coach Ryan Aldridge acknowledges the club should be proud of that fact, it isn’t enough to celebrate simply getting there.

Only once have the Knights come out on top at the season-closing weekend at the SkyDome Arena, that being on their first visit there back in 2023 when they edged out Romford Raiders 5-4.

Given the shortage of bodies on his bench for today’s semi-final against Sheffield Steeldogs - through a combination of injuries and GB Under-18 call-ups - will be hoping his team can pull something similar out of the bag like they did in Milton Keynes last Saturday when they won 6-5 to book their ticket to Coventry.

He knows it will be hard to reproduce that not just over one, but - if successful in getting past the Steeldogs - two days.

“We should be proud of the fact we’ve been there four times, but nothing has happened until you’ve won,” said Aldridge. “There’s no point in celebrating just getting there.

“It’s going to be a tough weekend but we’ll throw everything at it and see what we can accomplish.”

“We’ve got to go in there with the right mindset, the right gameplan - everybody is going to have to play their best - there’s no doubt about that - but, if we can have another performance like the one last Saturday, then anything can happen.

“Sheffield are deep, a very good team and they can come at you. But it is Coventry weekend - lots of different things can get at you on Coventry weekend and this weekend will be no different.

“We’ve been there four years in a row now and we know what to expect. It’s draining and hopefully we’ll be used to that and maybe other teams won’t be so much.

“If you can go into Milton Keynes and turn Milton Keynes over like we did last week - and we’ve beaten every team this year - we’ve got to go in there with confidence.”