Lawrence will complete Stars’ player jigsaw

Ice hockey: Pacha swoops for Canadian

Chris Lawrence was confirmed as the last piece in Dundee Stars coach Omar Pacha’s player jigsaw yesterday.

The experienced Canadian-born right-wing/centre switches to Stars from Nottingham Panthers.

Lawrence is expected to be one of the leaders on Pacha’s new-look team, with the playcaller excited at having the Toronto-born player on board.

Pacha said: “He plays hard and is a power forward who possesses a great deal of skill. He has bags of British experience and we’ll need that as we have a lot of new, young players coming in here.”

Meanwhile, former Stars defenceman Craig Moore is set to ice in two of the biggest games of his career.

The Kirkcaldy-born Cardiff Devils star is preparing for his debut in the Champions Hockey League (CHL) as Cardiff visit HC Davos in Switzerland today and Czech side Bili Tygri Liberec on Saturday.

“It’s a huge tournament to be involved in and you’re playing against some great teams,” said 22-year-old Moore.

“The play-off semi-final with Dundee a few months ago was the biggest game before but this will be something else. If you’d said to me at the play-offs that I would play for Cardiff in the CHL I would think it was far-fetched.”

Moore added: “Morale is high after coming off a big win over Krefeld Pinguine.

“Winning 6-2 was a big confidence boost and shows how good a team we are. The mood and belief around the team is good and we’ve gelled quickly.

“The underdog mentality has been pushed to the side and we’re going out to prove what we can do.

“The arena in Davos is a special place and the Swiss League is a top league so it’s going to be a fast-paced game. “There is pressure for us to perform.” Panthers visit Swiss outfit SC Bern today and Czech side Mountfield HK on Saturday in the same competition.