THE Deeside Dragons are preparing to make the short trip up to Widnes on Sunday as they look to stay in the hunt for the play-offs.

Currently, the Flintshire club lie sixth in the NIHL Laidler Conference, six points adrift of Sheffield Senators in the final play-off spot having played a game more.

But the race for the play-offs is complicated by their upcoming opponents, Widnes Wild, who sit right in the middle of the two teams and have several games in hand.

Ahead of the local derby clash, Widnes find themselves three points clear of the Dragons who have played four games more, while also being three points off the Senators having played three fixtures fewer.

Deeside, though, kept themselves in the mix to finish in the top four as they claimed a crucial win over Telford Tigers last week.

The Dragons scored four times in the final ten minutes to secure a 5-3 win over their rivals, and the Deeside boss Gary Shaw said that the result gives his side hope.

He said: “The win over Telford gives us an opportunity to get to fourth, but realistically we have to win pretty much every game now.

“Widnes have got a few games in hand, but if we manage to take points off them, and find a way to beat the teams above us like Sheffield and Altrincham - which we know we’re capable of - we could finish fourth.

“It may well come down to the last game of the season, which is at home to Widnes and that would be a cracking game.

“We gave them (Widnes) five powerplay goals in the home game in early January which proved to be the difference.

“We also lost three players to penalties in that game, and if we’re to get anything this time we need to rise above the things they do and hurt them by putting the puck into the net.

“The players just need to keep believing in what they can do with the puck, while keeping their heads about them.”

Shaw is expected to have a nearly fully available squad to choose from, with Alex Parry returning to the team and Geraint Evans the only likely absentee.

Deeside claimed a win in Widnes earlier in the season as James Parsons (2), James Shaw and Chris Jones fired them to a 4-2 victory over the defending champions. But Wild claimed their revenge in early January as they prevailed 7-2 at the Den in a game where Alex Parry, Karl Bacon and Marc Lovell all received lengthy penalties.

Elsewhere in the Laidler Conference over the weekend, Widnes go to top of the table Hull a day before hosting the Dragons, while second placed Bradford entertain Blackburn Hawks Two.

Shortly before Deeside face-off against Widnes, another crucial fixture in the race for the top four will begin as third place Altrincham welcome fourth placed Sheffield.