BELFAST Giants forward Ben Lake has urged his team-mates not to dwell on last weekend's four-point weekend against the Sheffield Steelers as the tough games keep on coming.
The Giants gave themselves a huge shot in the arm as they look to defend their Elite League title as they won both games of their double-header against their title-chasing rivals at the SSE Arena.
But they can ill-afford to rest on their laurels this weekend as their task doesn't get any easier as this time the league leading Guildford Flames come to Belfast for a potentially crucial clash on Saturday night (7pm).
And Great Britain international Lake believes that if they go into the game thinking they have the job done before face-off then they will get burned by the Flames.
"Things are pretty upbeat. We've had a good week of practice but, like we say even after rough weekends, you can't dwell on them too long, especially if you want to be successful in this league. You have to put it behind you and focus on that next game ahead," says Lake.
"Part of our success has been that mentality. Keefer does a great job at setting everyone's sights on our tasks and where we need to be. We enjoyed the weekend. Come this week in practice, everyone has put it behind us and we're focused on Guildford.
"There's that sense of momentum that comes from more of a mindset as opposed to X's and O's. We feel good about our game right now and going into this weekend knowing we did our job against Sheffield, the league is there for the taking.
"If we take it one game at a time and go on a run at the end of the year, it's in our hands. It's one game at a time. Momentum's a big thing and if we're trending in the right direction then things will end up well for us."
Instead, Lake believes that all the focus should be on themselves and not on Guildford, claiming that if they can continue this recent run of form that has brought them just six points off top spot then they will be able to claw back even more points.
"Sticking with the things we do well. We may have a different focus based on who we're playing each week, but sticking to the things we do well like limiting time for the opposition and using our speed and getting that sustained o-zone pressure, those are the main things we focus on," he explained.
"They're a really good team. They've got excellent goaltender, lots of players who can score and some really solid defencemen. We saw it in the first leg of the Challenge Cup what we need to do to slow them down. They're a high-paced team, they have a lot of speed and they finish well.
"At this stage of the season, I'm not surprised they're up there. We've played them five times now and they've always been a tough opponent. If we can slow them down in the neutral zone and defend well then I fancy our chances on any given night. Just focus on our process and that's our key to success."
The Giants are likely to be without Scottish star Mark Garside as he continues to rehab an injury sustained against the Steelers last weekend but should be able to run a full line-up of imports as Donovan Neuls and Henrik Eriksson are both back.
