Blackburn Hawks endured a weekend of mixed fortunes defeating Whitley Warriors in a cracking cup tie on Saturday, but falling against fierce rivals Flintshire Freeze in the league 24 hours later.

Hawks overcame their Northern League Cup opponents Whitley 6-5 in a tense game at the Arena, but unfortunately the local stars can no longer qualify.

General manager Graham Lomax was delighted with his side's disciplined performance.

"I was very impressed with the lads on Saturday," insisted Lomax. "We tried out a new system and it worked very well.

"We shortened players' shift time on the ice so they were only out for a minute or so and it kept everyone fresh.

"When the lads are all out there for two or three minutes at a time they begin to get tired and give away silly penalties.

"We have played the same way for years so this really freshened everyone up."

Hawks were desperately disappointed to lose their English National Ice Hockey League fixture with Flintshire 9-7 on Sunday, but Lomax insisted a top four finish was still a possibility.

"If we could swap this weekend's results around we would, but I still think we will be okay come the end of the season.

"A few teams around us on similar points also lost this weekend, so we haven't really fallen behind in the league. It is still all to play for."