The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Stars aim to take step toward ‘best ever’ tag
Defenceman Kris Inglis has revealed that he and his team-mates are striving to be the most successful Dundee Stars team of all-time.
The Tayside club have the opportunity to take a big step towards earning that title this weekend as they can clinch top spot in their League Cup group.
With wins in their final two group stage games against Belfast Giants and Fife Flyers, Dundee can seal their place as a group winner in the Challenge Cup and advance to the knockout rounds as a seeded team.
The Stars sit top of Group A by two points after winning three of their four matches and Inglis said: “The Challenge Cup is a big priority early in the season and if you have a good start then you hope that it will carry over into the regular season because we also know how important the league is.
“After our good start, guys have been playing with confidence and it would be a remarkable achievement to finish at the top of our group.”
The 21-year-old also knows how important that accomplishment could be for Stars.
Inglis added: “We have this ethos as a team that we want to be the most successful Stars team ever and to clinch that top spot away from three other very good teams would be an excellent achievement.”
However, the Dundonian is not expecting an easy final two games, against Belfast at home today and away at Fife tomorrow.
He added: “We have come up against both teams before and we know what they are all about.
“We have to do the same things we did in Belfast and that is just keeping it simple.
“We know they are a good team but I know if we play the way that I know we can play and stick to our systems then it will be a good night for us, especially at home.
“It’s the same for Fife – it is a tough building to go over there and play in but it gets the guys fired up.
“Playing in Kirkcaldy is always fun and, because we have already played them and know what they are about, it is just a case of simplifying our game on Sunday and hopefully we come away with that win.”
Head coach Omar Pacha said: “Belfast are a top team, so if we do a good job at home and take points then we might not have to see them in the quarter-finals, semi-finals or the final.
“We need to win to be on top of the group, so we are just going to make sure we are ready from the get-go.”
Pacha added: “We are going day by day and focusing on Saturday but we played OK against them (Fife) last time, we just couldn’t find a way past their goalie.
“Although, we just want to focus on Belfast, this is a great opportunity for us to play them at home in front of our big crowd and qualify for the Challenge Cup and hopefully finish first in the group.”
Today’s game will start at 7pm and tomorrow’s will face-off at 6.30pm.