CHELMSFORD Chieftains have reached the business end of the season and are in pole position to hold on to the League Championship Trophy they won 12 month’s ago.

The Chieftains drew 3-3 away to Cardiff NIHL Devils before defeating Milton Keynes Thunder 5-2 at the weekend.

But with six games remaining, the league will be on the back-burner this week.

The quadruple champions from Riverside are preparing for their biggest game of the season so far.

A two-legged NIHL Cup semi-final against the Streatham Redskins this coming weekend.

It will be a real battle between the two sides who have already met three times in the past month.

The first back-to-back encounter between the teams gave the Redskins an all-winning weekend, and when they met again a fortnight ago Chieftains regained some pride with a confidence boosting 6-2 victory at Riverside.

But it is a must-win weekend as for the losers the road to the cup will end on Sunday night.

The first leg is in south London on Saturday, and the second leg is at Riverside with a 6.30pm face-off.

Fans are urged to arrive early as it should a busy night, but as always tickets can be brought at the doors which open at 5.15pm.

Last weekend the Chieftains warmed up for their forthcoming big cup semi-final weekend, with a 5-2 win over the unpredictable Milton Keynes Thunder at Riverside on Sunday.

But top-of-the-table Chieftains also proved they too can be unpredictable after they were held to a 3-3 draw in Cardiff against the NIHL Devils the previous night.

The Devils are at present propping up NIHL Division 1 South and a goal from Matt Turner, with only under three minutes of the game remaining rescued a crucial point. It was Turner’s second goal of the night with the other strike coming from Danny Hammond.

Goals from Ryan Giles, Ross Brears, Danny Hammond and a brace from Martin Piecha secured a deserved victory which keeps them one pt ahead of Invicta Dynamos with two games in hand.