Invicta Dynamos coach Karl Lennon hopes his men can keep on surprising people as their focus returns to league action.

They beat the second placed team in NIHL South Division 1 - Solent Devils - over two legs last weekend to book themselves a place in the League Cup final.

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Lennon is now looking at climbing the table to improve on their fifth-placed position. The team directly above them - the Chelmsford Chieftains - will be their cup final opponents in February.

The Chiefs host the Mos in the league on Sunday. Before that Lennon’s team are up against Oxford City Stars at home on Saturday (5.15pm).

Lennon said: “Solent had only lost once away from home, they are solid and organised, to beat a team like that we had to be organised but we out-worked them and got the rewards.

“I am sure there are others in the league looking at the results and thinking ‘wow, that is something special’ because nobody probably expected us to do that this year, so far. Let’s keep surprising people. My hope and ambition is to keep over-achieving on the expectation that we had at the start.”

Lennon - in his first season as head coach - had hoped for a place in a final when the season got under way but it was always a big ask. He’s got his men there.

He said: “My expectations are probably slightly different to others because I am super competitive and I want to win every game, I don’t want to lose anything.

“We were built on a foundation of great success as a club and I know that if you want to be successful you need to have those ambitions, otherwise what are we doing?

“The team have bought into that more and more as time has passed, they have realised how capable they are, I am not saying we would go and win the league, but we have had tough times and it is about how you overcome those. we have had injuries that haven’t helped, but in games where we have had the bodies in, the big nights we have shown up and played well.

“We play with heart and passion and that is what it means to play for this team, I have high expectations but that is probably because I have those on myself anyway, the boys are starting to match those expectations and starting to understand what it is and why it is important to try and push themselves as hard as they can.

“We have got a run now of games in the league, starting this weekend with two tough games again. We had some trouble the other weekend against Oxford, we started poorly against them and we owe a performance from start to stop.

“On Sunday we play Chelmsford away in their rink. We have had two wins there so far away from home, they are a place above us in the league and if we want to catch them then we have to beat them, we are also playing them in the final, a rivalry that has been long lasting from us for many years.

“This will be great preparation for playing them in the final, but we can forget the final for now, that’s done, it is about focussing on the league and climbing the table as quick as we can.”