Stars boss Pacha hopes derby sell-out will be first of many.

ICE HOCKEY: Head coach reckons club could be established as major city team

Dundee Stars head coach Omar Pacha is hoping that the record-breaking crowd at last Saturday’s derby with Fife Flyers will become a weekly thing.

More than 2,300 people packed into the city’s ice rink to watch the Stars take Flyers – the Stars’ biggest crowd in the Elite League era.

During the three seasons Pacha has been at the helm, attendances have been increasing with the average for this season so far sitting at close to 1,400.

Stars have the eighth highest average attendance in the league this season and but are hoping an exciting finish to the season will see crowds continue to grow.

Pacha said: “That was the best Dundee support we have had for the regular season and that was great to see.

“It was the biggest attendance we have had at a game since the play-off series a few years ago.

“It was a great night off the ice but it was just unfortunate about the result, yet it just shows that we can do it and that we can do it again.

“It really is a great success story for the club and it shows that it is something we can build for the future.

“Ice hockey has always had a history in Dundee because of the previous seasons in the British National League days and there was a lot of fan interest back then.

“But I think what we have done is get a new wave of fans and people believing that hockey can be a major sport in Dundee and any time you get an attendance like that, it just shows that there is a lot of interest in the sport and that the sport has grown dramatically in the last few years.

“Fair play to everyone in the organisation, because they all work hard off the ice to push the product on the ice and that just shows that there is a great potential for hockey in Dundee and now it is up to us to fulfil it.”

Tomorrow Stars host Manchester Storm, who are just above them in the league standings and are locked in the battle for a play-off spot.

Face-off is at 7pm.

Flyers face their sixth and final game against league pace-setters Sheffield Steelers tomorrow.

Coach Todd Dutiaume will be keen to build on last weekend’s four-point haul and on the victory at Kirkcaldy on February 16 over the men from the FlyDSA (Sheffield) Arena with a positive result.

The fixture will be the 73rd meeting between the sides.

Steelers have recorded 55 wins with Flyers victorious on only 15 visits.

Fans travelling to Sheffield are reminded that drums and bagpipes are not permitted in The House of Steel.

Picture: Kris Miller. More than 2,300 people packed into the ice rink to see Dundee take on Fife on Saturday.