Romford Raiders player-coach Adam Laishram took plenty of positives from their opening weekend in the National League.

The team showed plenty of character in a 7-4 loss at MK Lightning on Saturday, then rallied from two goals down in the closing minutes to beat Swindon in overtime at a noisy Sapphire Ice & Leisure Centre the following night.

And they will look to build on that when they welcome Peterborough to Romford on Sunday (5.15pm).

"Our opening weekend saw us face off against two strong teams," said Laishram.

"There were plenty of positives to take and a few lessons to learn as well.

"We're excited to tighten up some things in training this week as we prepare for a big test against Peterborough next weekend.

"With only one game on the schedule, the squad will be fresh and ready to bring some exciting, high-energy hockey."

Raiders fell behind after 16 seconds at Milton Keynes and trailed 3-0 inside 10 minutes.

Defenceman Marco Pascale hit back with a superb solo effort, only for the hosts to restore their three-goal cushion soon after.

But Brandon Ayliffe then took Jacob Ranson's pass inside the blue line and fired into the top corner, with Shaun Miller drilling a low shot home just 35 seconds later to make it 4-3.

After conceding a fifth, Raiders saw Andrew Shewfelt's precision finish just 30 seconds later keep them in the hunt.

But Lightning moved 6-4 up before the game's midway point and killed off three successive minor penalties before the second break.

The home side completed their 7-4 win early in the final period as both sides failed to capitalise on further powerplay opportunities.

"We battled back and forth all night in MK, which is always a tough place to play on the road," added Laishram.

"We had several quality chances that could’ve changed the outcome of the game but ultimately the better team on the night won."

Raiders dominated the opening session against Swindon on Sunday, but could not find a way past Renny Marr.

And the visitors broke the deadlock with 52 seconds left on the clock as Ed Bradley pounced on a loose puck to shoot past Ethan James as teams skated 4-on-4.

Minor penalties to Laishram and Ayliffe left Raiders defending a 5-on-3 for 1.47 but they survived, only to see Edgars Bebris poke home Swindon's second goal soon after.

And as Marr continued to hold firm in the final period, it looked like Raiders would finish empty-handed, as Swindon were denied a third by a desperate goalline clearance, until Bradley was given a delay of game penalty for sending the puck over the plexi glass in his own defensive zone with four and a half minutes left.

Raiders called a time-out to discuss their plans and, with only seconds left on the penalty, Miller saw a hard pass meant for Laishram deflect into the roof of the net off a Swindon player.

Having waited so long for one goal, Raiders fans were cheering a second less than a minute later as Shewfelt skilfully deflected another Miller shot past Marr to level.

And having taken the match into a 3-on-3 overtime session, Raiders completed their remarkable come-from-behind victory when Laishram and Tjay Anderson broke up ice and Jake Sylvester swept the puck under Marr from the bottom of the right face-off circle.

"Sunday was a big bounce back for us," said Laishram.

"We took on a strong Swindon team, we were knocking on the door all night long. I thought we were the better team throughout the game but were up against a hot goaltender.

"We stayed persistent and finally got some puck luck, rallying for an overtime win that felt well deserved."