BLACKBURN Hawks are hoping to rise up the NIHL Moralee Conference when they visit Nottingham Lions tomorrow.

Steve Duncombe’s side had lost seven in a row prior to last Sunday’s cup win against Billingham Stars and the Hawks coach is hoping to use that as a springboard in the coming weeks.

He said: “We had a bad run of games until Sunday when we managed to get a good win under our belt. That was in the cup though and we are out of that now.

“It was good to get back to winning ways though and it’s good to take into this weekend. If we can play the way we played then, then I am expecting good things from the next couple of games.”

Blackburn’s previous four games were all in the cup, a competition that Duncombe’s men were already knocked out of, and he conceded that motivating his squad played a factor in their poor form.

He added: “It’s hard to play those cup games when you’ve lost so many and know that you’re out, it’s tough to get up for them.

“Now it’s the league everyone is going to be motivated to get a big win. We all know what’s at stake.”

Duncombe sees no better place to start than with a trip to bottom of the table Nottingham.

The fixture carries added spice given that the last clash between the sides, at Blackburn last month, was abandoned when Lions’ players and officials complained about the state of the ice.

Hawks were leading 4-0 at the time and despite talk of this weekend’s game being worth double points, league officials have stepped in and requested that game is replayed at a later date.

And the Hawks coach is hoping to use that abandoned fixture to motivate his players this weekend.

“Nottingham aren’t one of the strongest teams in the league,” Duncombe added. “The last game we played got abandoned and we were actually 4-0 up when the call to abandon the game was made.

“I am hoping to get back to winning ways. Hopefully we can get some confidence behind us and turn the losing streak into a winning streak.

“I’m hoping to go and show them (Nottingham) what they were missing when it was abandoned.”

Hawks’ next five fixtures are all in the league and Duncombe is hoping his side can breathe some new life into their campaign.

He added: “I really want to make an impact this year in the league.

“We’ve set goals of where we want to be in the league this year, and to do that we really need to knuckle down and get some wins in the league and move up that table.

“I have always said I want to finish just below the teams that were relegated, so around fourth or fifth. It would be nice if we could finish higher, but that’s our benchmark.”