KRIS Miller finally got the monkey off his back with his first goal of the season at Bracknell last Sunday.

Now he is hoping Manchester Storm can finally put their scoring blues behind them and start to climb off the bottom of the Ice Hockey Superleague.

The Storm defenceman was a goalscoring sensation in his first season with the club but the last couple of years have been almost barren for the man from Minnesota.

He had been firing blanks all season until last Sunday when his 51st-minute slapshot earned the Storm their first point in Bracknell for almost three years.

''Hopefully it is the start of some better results for us,'' said Miller.

''We played well the whole game despite being down 3-1. We had a lot of energy and worked really hard. In the third period we tied it but really we had the chances to have won the game.

''When Joe Cardarelli scored it gave us all a lift because he has been struggling to find the net recently. We all feel for the guy because he has not scored for a few games.

''I was just happy to get that monkey off my back. I had been talking to Rob Wilson about it before the game and I felt there was pressure on me to score.

Relief

''Every game I was pushing hard and when it came it was a relief. I just one-timed it and it just hit the right spot.

''That's something we have not had a lot of luck with this season. We have had a lot of chances but for some reason they have gone high or wide.''

Storm are hoping to continue the good work against London Knights at the MEN Arena on Sunday (5pm).

In four games against the Knights this season Storm have won three and drawn one while London have not won away for four games.

''We seem to like playing London and I hope our good form against them can continue on Sunday,'' added Miller. ''We need to start winning at home and the fans deserve better.''

One thing the fans have noticed this season is the rarity of punch-ups at the MEN Arena, although Miller was involved in a flare-up with Sheffield's Jeff Sebastian in Storm's last home game.

He reckons it's down to the number of players on each team.

''In past years we have had four lines and six defencemen but now we only have five D and three lines and you just can't afford to take penalties.''

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