IT has been a rough week for the Newcastle Jesters' boys.

We started the Benson and Hedges tournament with two losses against Sheffield and Nottingham.

We played pretty well in both games but we still came up short.

I think we worked really hard but we still made mental mistakes that cost us dearly.

I'm really positive we are going to do a lot better this week though, especially after the way we've played against Nottingham on Sunday. We outshot them by 15 and deserved better.

We should have won that game. On that night, I also had my first encounter with Barry Nieckar, one of the toughest guys in the league.

I can tell you right now that I don't like that guy.

He is very strong - too strong on the ice - but it's a long season and we'll see what will happen next time we meet.

This week, we are playing London and Nottingham.

Again, I can guarantee that the guys will be ready to play at their best and I expect two really great performances from the Jesters