The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Fast skating and energy stressed by netminder
Dundee Stars netminder Alex Leclerc wants to see his side build on last weekend’s two important wins and continue to prove themselves against the Elite League’s big sides.
The Stars defeated Manchester Storm 4-3 at home on Saturday before winning 3-1 against their biggest rivals, Fife Flyers, in Kirkcaldy on Sunday.
Dundee have just a single fixture this weekend.
They visit the Belfast Giants tomorrow night, hoping to build some momentum ahead of their cup quarter-final match next Friday.
“We just have to focus on bringing our fast skating and energy into this weekend because that’s how we were successful,” Leclerc said.
“I also believe that we played really well all over the ice. We were good in the offensive, neutral and defensive zones and that was the key to our success because we weren’t just good in spurts but good overall for the whole game.”
Dundee have stepped up their game after a disappointing run, and the Canadian keeper spoke about some of the changes made prior to the last two matches.
He said: “Last week we changed our structure a bit in terms of our forecheck and adapted to a system of play that benefits us more as we are a fast team.
“Therefore, it involves a bit more skating but that system gave us a lot of chances to counter-attack efficiently with speed.”
Omar Pacha’s men have already visited the SSE Arena in Belfast twice this season, winning once.
Leclerc added: “Belfast are a very skilled team but they know that we have a good work ethic and we have proved in the past that we can surprise them.
“We want to do that again and keep clawing our way back up the standings.
“We want to be the hardest team to play against every single night and be the side that frustrates other teams.
“So, we definitely want to prove ourselves again against such a good team like Belfast.”
The Stars’ fixture in Northern Ireland starts at 7pm.