Stars and Flyers set to face-off

Dundee Stars will hope to take the form showed in the narrow defeat to Nottingham Panthers into their Boxing Day cracker against arch-rivals Fife Flyers (4pm).

It has been a bleak pre-Christmas with the side seven points adrift at the bottom of the 10-strong Elite League table.

Omar Pacha’s men have accumulated only 15 points from 27 games while Manchester Storm, who are also out of a play-off position, are ninth with 21 points from 26 starts.

Stars’ renewed hope of making the top eight follows promising home debuts to newcomers Alex Schoenborn and Matt Carter.

They showed up well, according to coach Pacha, in Stars’ battling 3-2 home defeat to Panthers.

Coach Pacha is desperate to snap an eight-game league losing streak and the Canadianborn playcaller said: “The two new guys showed some really great potential, especially with Alex.

“He is strong on the boards and was playing that gritty game that we probably needed.

“For Matt, he is a guy who, once he has a few more touches on the ice, he will get better.”

It’s an anxious time for Flyers fans, too, as they occupy the eighth and final play-off spot with 24 points from 27 starts.

Todd Dutiaume, Fife’s head coach, saw his men skid to a 3-1 home defeat, with Belfast Giants scoring three goals without reply between the 28th and 45th minutes, two of them on the power play.

Fife’s consolation came from Danick Gauthier and Dutiaume said: “We played so well down in Manchester (on Saturday), the guys really dug deep, and we wanted to carry that momentum over.

“When you are playing with that spark then things happen for us.”

Dutiaume dismissed any suggestion that the overtime period in the 3-2 win at Manchester on Saturday was an influence on Sunday’s result.

He said: “Everybody can see when we find that spark that this team can compete with anybody.”

Dundee Stars head coach Omar Pacha.