The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Key trio lead revival as Stars get back in hunt
Run of wins raises Dundee hopes of closing gap
Dundee Stars have strung together five straight wins at home and have yet to be beaten in 2018.
They have slowly overcome the plague of injuries that hit them hard early in the season, and this good start to the second half could be the turning point of their campaign.
Wins over Fife, Braehead and Edinburgh have put Stars just six points behind second-placed Braehead Clan in the Gardiner Conference with 14 still to play.
Three players have stood out in the recent revival, as their individual skills have helped the rest of the squad to progress as a team. Marc-Olivier Mimar, Gabriel Levesque and Riley Stadel have each played key parts in the recent successes.
Mimar has got himself back on the scoresheet in the last three games after a short drought but the chemistry between him and linemate Levesque has helped lift the team.
Mimar said: “It was good to win the four points last weekend – I think it was the first time this year we were able to get all four points from a weekend.
“I knew Gabriel before I came here and we are good buddies, I think we are the same kind of players on the ice.
“We know where the other is going to be and we have good chemistry, so it helps us a lot and we are happy to be here in Dundee during this time.
“Sometimes you are looking for the chances and when you get them the puck just doesn’t want to go in but you have to keep working because at one point you will be rewarded.”
Mimar provided the shoot-out winner for Dundee on Sunday in the capital as Stars claimed their first away victory since late October.
He added: “It is always nice to be able to help the team in a shoot-out situation and we have Travis (Fullerton) doing an incredible job between the pipes – and Riley Stadel too.
“Looking ahead, if we keep doing what we are doing right now, playing simple and respecting the gameplan and just working hard, I think good things are going to happen for us.”
Levesque has been a consistent source of points for Stars all season and was rewarded for his remarkable efforts in the past weekend’s victories over Edinburgh by being selected as the Elite League player of the week.
The Quebec native, who has scored nine goals and assisted 32 times in 41 games, said: “The only thing I have done differently recently is shooting the puck more so I can be a threat in different ways.
“Before I was passing the puck more but now it is tougher for the opponents to know what I am going to do.
“It feels pretty good for everyone to get these big wins. It is much needed as we are in the running for a play-off spot and without those wins I don’t think we would still be in the running. It just keeps us alive right now.
“We are getting better in the system and recently we got the bounces.
“A big part of our success in the next half of the season will be to keep improving in the systems and keep adding more important bodies to the line-up plus we have got two new guys in and I think this will help a lot.
Talking about his connection with Mimar, Levesque added: “You are always one step ahead of the other team when two guys are on the same wavelength.”
Dundee have had a lot of success in penalty shoot-outs this year and when it comes down to the wire, the team can count on Stadel to produce. The Canadian has scored six out of the eight penalty shots he has taken but says this is a new part to his game.
He said: “My first ever penalty shot was in this league and I guess (Omar) Pacha has the confidence to put me in and hopefully I keep producing when it becomes necessary.
“It’s not a situation we want to be – we want to win in regulation – but I’m happy that I’ve been able to score and get the win for the team.
“Going into this past weekend there was a big emphasis on how this was two big conference games and Pacha really made sure we knew that it had to be two big wins.
“I think the home wins are a lot more fun, we have some great support from the fans and that’s one of the things that Pacha has also said, that making sure when we are at home we put on a good show for them and come out with wins.”
Dundee have had trouble duplicating their impressive home form in away games but Stadel is confident that they can start getting some road wins.
He said: “You have to win away games too to be good in this league.
“The first one of the new year we got, so we are going to go into Milton Keynes on Saturday and we are expected to get that win too.
“I think one thing that is going to be big is our upcoming practices, it’s the first time the whole team is together.
“We need to understand our game plan and we are going to stick to it and each guy will come to play.”
Stars are preparing for a crucial clash in Milton Keynes on Saturday night where a fourth straight win would draw them level on points with their hosts.
They then face Braehead on home ice as they hope to reduce the points gap in the conference and play-off race.