BLACKBURN Hawks forward Dan Mackriel reckons that team spirit has been the key to the team's recent revival. Mackriel has starred in a memorable few weeks for the Hawks that has seen them pick up several important wins to boost thier promotion credentials.

And the 19-year-old star today singled out the moment that ended the drought: "We were going through a rough patch where we weren't playing well at all," said Mackriel. "We knew we had to start picking up points fast so we had a team meeting in training.

"Basically, we sorted everything out there and then. Now we have this tremendous belief in ourselves and it is starting to show out on the ice. There is a never-say-die attitude that is making us really hard to beat at the moment."

Hawks need to make up four points in their remaining four games to reach the play off positions in the English League Division One (North), but Mackriel is confident that the team can do just that.

"Everyone still thinks the playoffs are a realistic target and until it is mathematically impossible for us to get there we will keep plugging away and hopefully lift outselves into the playoffs."

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