Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Pacha: Stick Stars and we
AFTER six successive losses, Dundee Stars’ coach Omar Pacha has asked the fans to keep the faith as they look to put a halt to that trend this weekend.
Tomorrow they travel to Milton Keynes to face the league’s new boys, Lightning, who are currently sitting in ninth spot in the Elite Ice Hockey League — two above Dundee.
The English side are also on a bad run at the moment, having lost their last three fixtures, including a 6-1 defeat to Sheffield Steelers last Sunday.
The last time the two teams met was on October 1 at Dundee Ice Arena when Stars recorded a 5-1 win during which Joey de Concylis, and the now departed Tyler Brickler, each grabbed two goals.
On Sunday, Dundee return to the Kingsway rink where Pacha will face his former club, Manchester Storm. Face-off is at 6.30pm.
Storm currently take up joint-third place in the league, having held top spot for the early part of the season.
Nevertheless they are only four points behind current leaders Nottingham Panthers and, in Mike Hammond, they have the league’s third-top scorer with 12 goals to his credit so far.
The last meeting between the two, at Dundee Ice Arena in November, saw the home side take both points in a 5-4 win after a penalty shoot-out.
Stars’ injury list has been horrific over the past few months and they were dealt another blow when it was announced Johan Andersson has picked up a long-term wrist injury that will require surgery. Coach Pacha said of this setback: “Johan is an absolute warrior. He has played with this injury for two months now and, unfortunately, he will require surgery in the next few days.”
Pacha also revealed Chris Lawrence’s injury is going to keep him out for another few weeks but that he is progressing.
On the plus side, Anthony Mastrodicasa is close to a return, with Justin Fox and Jordan Cownie both expected to play this weekend.
Pacha continued: “We have faced extreme adversity so far this season — everyone knows that — but the boys showed a lot of character and determination last Sunday and I have no doubt this will continue tomorrow in Milton Keynes.
“I have witnessed first hand the dedication of the players and it gives me further motivation to push them to