StormCast Episode 16: Johnson ready for fiery trip to the Devils

Manchester Storm forward Stephen Johnson admits he’s enjoyed the spiciness of previous visits to Cardiff - but insists the team won’t be pushed around.

It’s a first visit of the season to Wales tonight as part of a double road weekend that concludes in Coventry against the Blaze tomorrow with Challenge Cup points at stake.

And Johnson, a guest along with assistant coach Dallas Ehrhardt on this week’s edition of StormCast, reckons it will be a test against Paul Thompson’s side.

It’s never easy going there, but we’ve kind of developed a good rivalry with them over the last couple of years,

he said.

They’ve kept pretty much the same team as last year so we know what to expect from them, plus they added Nick Welsh from us.

They’ve got a lot of firepower so it’s going to be a great test for us and we’re really looking forward to getting that game in for sure.

It was good last year when we went head to head with them and showed that we weren’t going to be pushed around.  That’s the style we want to continue to bring.

We can play any style against anyone. I love playing in games like that.  It feels like play-off games, which are awesome to be part of and play the way we need to play to win.

After Cardiff, it’s off to Coventry to complete the weekend and while Johnson was reluctant to talk too much about Saturday’s game at this point, he revealed what was learned about the Blaze from their recent pre-season meeting, which Storm lost 3-1.

Coventry are a great team who are coached very well,

he added.

They’re tough defensively and it’s not fun to go to that rink for sure.

They have a hard-nosed style and it’s always a great match up with them and we’re looking forward to it.

They moved the puck well in pre-season and they’re a high flying team with a great work ethic.  I believe with our skill and our work ethic, we can compete with anyone in this league.  We have to focus on ourselves and do what we can do.

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