Head Coach Kevin Parrish believes the Invicta Dynamos will take a lot of confidence going into this weekend’s clash with London Raiders.

The Dynamos showed they are going to be more than a match for any side this season as they came back from 4-0 down to draw 6-6 with the Chelmsford Chieftains in the NIHL Southern Cup last weekend.

On Sunday they play their opening league fixture of the season against what used to be Romford Raiders and Parrish believes his side should go into the game bursting with confidence after the spirited fightback in Gillingham last time out:

“I think in that game, they were good, we were bad and then got a lot better. There are some real positives after being 4-0 down and the guys really battled.”

“At 4-0 down I probably wanted the game to end right there as I didn’t want it to be embarressing. Maybe we were a little bit too pumped and the adrenalin was too high.”

“To have so many changes to the roster and for them to put in that shift, shows real character and maybe teams I have had in the past wouldn’t have come back from that.”

Having drawn their opening game, Parrish is hoping to have a fuller roster in which to choose from with Juraj Huska set to feature after serving a suspension, whilst Nicky Lewis should be back on the ice after missing out last weekend through injury.

With Tyrone Miller having left the club last week, Parrish is hoping to bring in a few more fresh faces in the coming weeks:

“There are one or two that I am talking to and hopefully we will have someone else in who trained with us last week.”

“If we can get the squad stronger, we will be close to where we need to be and if we can get back to a full three lines, we will be a force to be reckoned with.”

The London Raiders will be another stern test for the Dynamos this weekend, but Parrish believes the result against Chelmsford should stand them in good stead:

“That was a full strength Chelmsford team and at times we couldn’t stay with them, but with the likes of Nicky Lewis and Juraj Huska will add to what we have got and we showed even without them that we’ll be competitive.”

“There are a lot of positives to take from the game as we scored a lot of goals against a very good side and didn’t let our heads drop.”

“There was no shouting at any stage of the Chelmsford game, we stayed calm and showed what we can do when we put our minds to it.”

“It’ll be another tough game at the weekend, but we are at home and if we get another great crowd in, we should be in for another cracking game.”

It was the fans that came out in their numbers last weekend that made a difference to the Dynamos, sticking with their side even when they trailed 4-0 and Parrish believes they are the best in the league:

“I could hear a few things when we were 4-0 down and I wasn’t surprised, but the fans stay with us and are very, very loyal and I’m glad they did as they could have booed us off after the first period.”

“I don’t know what sort of reaction the players would have given to that as some have probably never been boowed off before.”

“It was good to see the building busy and hopefully we can start giving the fans some fast, free flowing hockey and scoring plenty of goals.”

“With a few good hits and some scraps, I think once we get up to full speed, the fans are really going to enjoy watching us this year.”

The game against the London Raiders takes place at the Silver Blades Ice Bowl in Gillingham on Sunday night with face off at 5:15pm. For more details, visit www.invictadynamos.co.uk

Pictures supplied by David Trevallion.