London Raiders forward Jacob Ranson is writing a blog during the 2014/15 ice hockey season

East London Advertiser: London Raiders forward Jacob Ranson is sponsored by Phil's Removals (pic: John Scott)London Raiders forward Jacob Ranson is sponsored by Phil's Removals (pic: John Scott) (Image: Archant)

The big problem with British ice hockey?

When you need new skates or other ice hockey kit.

I would have loved to have walked over to Rom Valley Way yesterday to buy some skates from Dave, though he would probably have moaned at the time of me buying them!

When I lived in Canada, I would have had the choice of three or four shops in downtown Kelowna.

But a lack of shops in this country meant setting out at eight in the morning to Sheffield yesterday. A move engineered by my clever dad and sponsor Phil’s Removals.

The trip to Sheffield was timed perfectly, with our team Leyton Orient also travelling north to face Sheffield United.

The journey also meant we had to stop at the Ok Diner, one of my favourite stops when travelling as a junior.

Then it was onto Puck Stop, which was like being back in Canada: a great shop with a brilliant selection.

What can I say about the service? It was worth the three-hour trip in itself.

But back to hockey after our first double header of the season last weekend.

Our fitness came into play, but we couldn’t have had a tougher first double-game weekend (than against Invicta and Chelmsford), now we should be sharper than ever for future games.

There were positives from the weekend and spells where we had control of the games, so hopefully we can build off this now.

We’re going back to another one-game weekend today against Solent and it’s the second trip to Gosport already this season, which means it will most likely be our last to their rink.

I’m sure for warm-up there will be another football match before the game. Hopefully not as one-sided as the last time in Gosport though!

Going back to the small rink we know what to expect as we’ve been there already this season (winning 4-1).

We know they are a defensive side that trap effectively on their small ice pad but it’s the perfect time to bounce back from two losses.

We need to pick up two points against Solent and get another win in the league.

Finally, I would like to welcome Lewis Jones to the team. We last played alongside each other in under-12s for Romford Raptors!