Everyone Active Raiders forward Jacob Ranson has described their upcoming fixtures in the National League this weekend as 'hugely important'.

Raiders welcome Hull Seahawks to Romford's Sapphire Ice & Leisure Centre on Saturday (5.15pm), before travelling to Slough to take on Bees IHC the following evening.

And Sean Easton's men will be looking for more success, having beaten Bees in back-to-back meetings during the festive period and moved up to seventh in the table in recent weeks.

"This weekend is hugely important," said Ranson.

"We still to rediscover our home form from last season and make it a fortress, which helped us be so successful.

"Hull are a good side, but if you put together a 60-minute performance filled with hard forechecking, energy and determination we can beat anyone on home ice.

"Bees away on the Sunday is a must-win game. We need to keep beating the teams below us and create a solid points gap over those below us."

Raiders had mixed fortunes last weekend as they were made to pay for a slow start in Swindon and suffered a 7-3 defeat.

They trailed by five goals at the first break, with replies from Coy Prevost, Jake Sylvester and Joe Tomalin - whose maiden strike for Raiders came some 32-plus years after dad Richard had netted his first for the club - over the next 40 minutes providing little consolation.

"We started too slow against a highly offensive team and was punished," added Ranson.

"We didn’t come out aggressive enough and gave too much respect in the first period, which saw us 5-0 down.

"We managed to get our rhythm as the game grew on, but it was too little too late.

"It was a great moment to be on the ice for Joe’s first goal as a Raider as his dad was one of my favourite players at the age of four!

"It was also great to be a part of Brynley’s [Capps] first goal during the Christmas period."

Riley MacRae and Sylvester struck either side of the first break in Sheffield on Sunday, before the struggling Steeldogs halved the deficit on the powerplay.

Adam Laishram made it 3-1 as Raiders enjoyed a man advantage and, although the hosts hit back early in the final period, Sylvester sealed a 4-2 victory eight minutes from time.

"Sheffield was a better performance and we got the all important job done of picking up two points," said Ranson.

"We need to find a way of playing aggressive for an entire 60 minutes to find ourselves more comfortable in games and climbing up the league table, as it’s very tight at present."

Saturday's encounter with Hull also represents a landmark occasion for Ranson and Jack Cooper, another former Romford junior.

Ranson will make his 300th appearance in the senior gold and blue jersey, having made his debut in a 6-1 win over Solent Devils at the start of the 2013-14 season, before going on to have spells with MK Thunder, Invicta, Basingstoke and Streatham.

"It's great to achieve such a milestone at my hometown club," he added.

"Time sure flies, I still remember my first Raiders game and shift like it was yesterday!"

Meanwhile, defenceman Cooper, 27, is set for his 424th outing on the blue line, which takes him past Rich Tomalin and into fourth place in the club's all-time appearance list.

"To keep climbing up the list of most appearances for the Raiders is special to me," said Cooper.

"When I started my junior career at Romford, my ambition was to one day play for the Raiders. I never thought I’d play this many games for my boyhood club so it’s a proud moment.

"I remember my first game for the Raiders like it was yesterday. It was against Chelmsford so not only my debut but a massive derby game!

"A special part of signing for the Raiders was the fact I got to play alongside players I played juniors with - a big one being Jacob Ranson.

"We played many years in juniors together, including a National Finals weekend, so being able to reconnect on the ice with him was great!

"We’ve now both played years together for our boyhood club - congrats on your 300th JR!"