HAWKS will blood their two new recruits Neil Abel and Colin Downie in this weekend's Northern Premier League ice hockey double header at Paisley tonight and at home to Whitley Bay tomorrow (face-off 6pm).

Vastly-experienced defenceman Abel, 36, is reputed to possess one of the hardest shots in the game while Downie, 23, joins the Arena crew after tasting success with Manchester Storm.

Abel, standing at well over six feet, started his career with Fife and has since enjoyed Premier League seasons with both Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers.

Downie is well known to Hawks followers from his net-minding exploits with both Storm and Trafford Metros.

"I would have liked to have signed Neil last season but he opted to stay with Steelers. He has great experience and a huge physical presence on the ice," said manager Mike Cockayne. "Colin is a quality player too and his arrival is timely with one of our summer signings, Trevor Foster, currently being sidelined with a broken finger. He could be out for several weeks.

"The signings will give our squad much better balance and I am very excited about the prospect of seeing two such top performers in our side."

One player who won't be involved for Hawks this weekend is long-serving Lee Cowmeadow who has opted for a switch of clubs and signed for Kingston Hawks - the club which also numbers two other ex-Blackburn stars in John Haig and Oleg Sinkov.

Hawks will be keen to get their season back on track this weekend after losing two of their opening three fixtures.

"I thought at the start that the NPL could be a wide open affair and that is how it is turning out. Every team in the league has lost at least once and I don't think we will see anyone running away with it," continued Cockayne. The management team were particularly disappointed last Sunday when Hawks threw away a 6-2 lead to crash to defeat at home to Dumfries Vikings.

"That was a poor effort - we hope it proves to be a one-off," added Mr Cockayne.

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