Tom Watkins praised Matty Davies after the forward hit a hat-trick during Telford Tigers 6-3 win over Hull Pirates on Wednesday.

The result moved the Tigers eleven points clear at the top of the EPL standings, although second-placed MK Lightning have three games in hand.

Watkins said: “How good was Matty for us? He played solid and it wasn’t just the points he scored.

“He blocked shots, he won face-offs and was tenacious on the forecheck, but he also added a lot of offensive capability.

“It was also good to see Corey McEwen back on the scoresheet, and that line really was the difference for us.

“It was a massive two points on the road and at this time of the year it’s not how, but how many they always say.

“We were a bit slow out of the blocks in the first period, but overall I’m really pleased with how we played.

“We scored a couple of powerplay goals and our penalty killing was kicking along real nice.

“We’ve had a great streak where we haven’t conceded on the penalty kill, but Nathan Salem popped up and ended that.

“Our neutral zone play was really good. We deflected a lot of pucks wide and were able to send pucks 200 feet down the ice.”

(Image permission: Steve Brodie)