As much as Adam Keefe will play up the knockout competition as just as important — and quite rightly, as it is still one they want to win — there is no doubting the League crown is the one everyone wants above all and this weekend’s English double-header at the Manchester Storm and the defending Champions Sheffield Steelers is where his roster get their first true test. And as he approaches it, Keefe has his first real decisions to make. While over the last few weeks, he’s been able to tinker with his line-up due to the repetitive nature of facing similar opposition, this weekend he needs to get it right in his bid to put four road points on the board early doors.
The skaters should work themselves out, with the defence likely to remain unchanged after their shut-out display in Dundee on Sunday, although the potential returns of Grant Mismash and Pierre-Olivier Morin could necessitate some alterations in the forwards. But the biggest question undoubtedly comes at netminder and who gets the nod for which game. Keefe will be delighted that Tom McCollum and Jackson Whistle have both started strongly, but that also makes it a tough decision as to how he will split the two games, particularly since it is not as simple as going with the hot hand given the first game is in Manchester.
While Whistle has been statistically better, conceding just two goals on 52 shots and backstopping that shut-out in Dundee on Sunday compared to McCollum’s eight in 78, the Storm Shelter can .