DAN MacKriel has praised the goalscoring prowess of his Blackburn Hawks side as they prepare to face a familiar foe tomorrow.

The Hawks have struck 75 goals in 10 league and cup games so far this season, all of which have ended in victory.

They top the Moralee Conference after nine games but are back in NLN Cup action tomorrow (5.45pm face-off) against Solway Sharks, who they will play for the fourth time in four weeks.

The Hawks won 8-3 in Dumfries last Saturday before beating Sheffield Senators 12-3 back in Blackburn on the Sunday.

“We’ve got some serious fire power,” said MacKriel. “One thing we wanted to work on was our secondary scoring, so the first line might get plenty of goals but we wanted more when the second line came on and we’re doing well at that.

“We are shooting the puck a lot more as well, that’s something I’ve encouraged. I wanted the forwards to shoot on sight more and not to pass up shooting opportunities.

“Instead of looking for the pretty goal or the pretty pass we are getting more shots away. The defenders are shooting the puck more as well and it is all contributing to more goals.”

Last weekend’s emphatic cup and league victories were made all the more pleasing by the fact youngsters from the Blackburn Eagles side were given game time with the Hawks, something MacKriel has been keen to bring in this season.

“On Sunday we had a couple of lads from the Eagles team and they did a really good job for us,” he said.

“Craig Lutkevitch was with us on Saturday and Sunday and he scored a couple of goals, he really stepped up the plate and all the lads coming in did themselves justice.

“They fit in seamlessly, which is great. We always have a couple of lads from the Eagles training with us during the week so they now how we want them to play and they work hard.

“We are trying to build that relationship between the two clubs and improve the players as a whole.”

Since October 11 the Hawks have beaten Solway 5-1 and 7-2 in the league and 8-3 in last weekend’s cup match.

The Sharks, usually competing with Blackburn at the top of the league, have lost six of their nine Moralee Conference games this season, but MacKriel believes it only a matter of team before they turn it around.

“They’re a good team, their results might not suggest that but we know that their capable of and they have a good coach as well,” he said.