McSorley: Keep it clean

13 April 2012

London Knights head coach Chris McSorley knows his team must keep it clean tonight when they become the first British ice hockey team to play in the finals of the Continental Cup.

Referees in Europe are sometimes considered over-officious and the Evening Standard-sponsored Knights know they will be punished if they overstep the mark against hosts and Swiss champions Zurich Lions.

McSorley, whose side nearly came unstuck because of refereeing decisions during the previous round in Norway, is confident his players can once again adapt to the different style of officiating.

He said: "It's going to be a very big weekend for us, the refereeing is different and we have to be a lot smarter about how we check and try to keep it clean. But we can still play hard, within the confines of the rules."

Knights will have the backing of nearly 150 travelling fans in Zurich's 11,500 capacity Hallenstadion.

McSorley added: "We do have the craziest fans than at any team I've ever been part of. They're loyal to the organisation and to the players, which is so refreshing to see. They never cease to amaze me and if they don't know, they should know that they're appreciated by us all."

Knights will follow the clash with Zurich with games against HC Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia tomorrow and German league leaders Munich Barons on Sunday.

The winners of the round robin-style tournament will be crowned Continental Cup champions.

Knights became the first British side to reach the finals after coming through their pool in Norway in November.

Swiss side Ambri-Piotta have won both previous Continental Cups in 1998 and 1999 and London go into this weekend as the underdogs.

Knights have lost four of their last five fixtures and are awaiting fit-ness tests on two players who picked up injuries last weekend.

Enforcer Dave Morissette is out with concussion while defenceman Mikael Tjallden (mild concussion) and forward Darby Walker both missed Tuesday's game against Newcastle. Walker's shoulder injury is likely to rule him out this weekend.

One player McSorley will look to this weekend is Canadian netminder Trevor Robins, whose outstanding form in Norway went a long way towards seeing Knights make it to Zurich.

Robins conceded only two goals in the three games in Norway and during the key 1-1 draw with Valerenga he turned aside 22 shots after Knights played for exactly half the game with a player sitting in the penalty box.

McSorley knows Robins' value to the team and was pleased that he recorded a shut-out in Tuesday's 3-0 win over Newcastle.

The London coach said: "Trevor was amazing in Norway and is the reason why we lead the league in shut-outs.

"Trevor is the main ingredient in our recipe of winning.

"He represents everything this organisation wants out of their athletes with his work ethic on and off the ice."

In-form forward Brendan Yarema said: "We're going in as the underdogs but we're going in there to win and we have a lot of heart in this team."

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