Stars and Flyers renew rivalries

ICE HOCKEY: Rivals take good form into Dundee Ice Arena clash with Elite League points up for grabs

Dundee Stars have yet another big weekend in store as they face their biggest rivals Fife Flyers this evening before travelling to Cardiff tomorrow night.

Fife have proved to be a tough side to beat after pulling off upsets against some of the top sides in the league but they have yet to win a game in Dundee this season.

The last time they visited the Dundee Ice Arena it was the hosts who claimed the points with a 7-5 win, netting five goals in the opening 20 minutes.

However, the Kirkcaldy side have shown their never-say-die attitude and pulled off some remarkable comebacks in Cardiff and Nottingham. They have also beaten the reigning play-off champions Sheffield twice.

The Scottish rivals have met four times this year with Fife claiming three wins.

The first meeting with Todd Dutiaume’s men at the Scottish Elite Cup in September went the way of Flyers as they claimed a 6-2 win to advance to the final. They have also claimed two home victories over Dundee, winning 5-1 twice in Kirkcaldy.

Fife are one of the league’s hottest teams as they have strung together five wins on the bounce.

Huge victories over Sheffield, Milton Keynes and Nottingham have lifted the Flyers into seventh spot in the Elite League table and they also topped the Gardiner Conference after back-to-back wins over Edinburgh Capitals.

Stars, though, have also found form in the league with wins against Capitals and Manchester Storm.

Two tough games against Sheffield in the Challenge Cup knocked Stars off their stride but Omar Pacha is keen to extend their good league form.

Cam Mcgiffin and Taylor Dickin departed the hosts’ camp at the start of the week but Pacha insists they can pull off another big conference result.

He said: “We need to create a lot of offensive chances and we have been playing a lot better defensively.

“The last game didn’t reflect that because of the penalties situation and the game being a bit meaningless after the second period.

“If we use our speed, play strong, create chances and stay out of the box – because they have a good powerplay – we will be successful.

“Every team loses guys but we will run the same line-up from the Manchester and Edinburgh game.

“We have Mastrodicasa back and we saw the impact he had against Edinburgh and Sheffield but we don’t have the luxury of having three consistent centres.”

Last year Justin Fox was playing on the Fife side of the Tay but now he has crossed the bridge and will face his old club for the first time.

Dundee’s No 9 scored a hat-trick in the last home game and continued his scoring streak in Sheffield.

He is looking forward to playing his former club, saying: “Any time you get to play against a former club, especially one you spent extended time with, it is always fun and you want to play well.

“It good to show them that you can still play at a high level and it’s a big conference game at a crucial point in the season. They are in good form and we have been playing well in the conference so hopefully we play well and get two points.

“Usually when Christmas hits the games get ramped up and games get tighter, the competition goes up to a whole new level as teams are fighting for positioning and trying to win trophies.

“We want to get the second half off to a good start.

“The first half was up and down and there have been hard times, but I think we are building and getting better and, as long as we continue to do so, I think we can be competitive.”

Fox has four goals in the last two games and revealed: “I’ve gone back to a shoot first mentality and playing with two good passers like Gabriel Lévesque and Marc-olivier Mimar, they find me when I am in the right spots and I am just bearing down and finishing the chances I get.”

Jimmy Jensen is Stars’ top scorer against Fife, with a hat-trick in the 7-5 win.

JUSTIN FOX

We want to get the second half off to a good start.