Goaltending rivals will prove crucial

FIFE FLYERS playcaller Danny Stewart yesterday claimed qualification for the final four could come down to the form of two men.

The duo are Dundee Stars’ Dan Bakala, Ice Hockey Journalists’ Player of the Year, and his highly-rated netminder Kevin Regan.

Bakala topped the individual goaltending charts after the end of the regular season with a save percentage of 92.8. Regan is 10th in the overall standings. Fife host Dundee at Kirkcaldy tonight in the first leg of the mouth-watering play-off quarter-final, with the return on Tayside tomorrow.

Stewart said: “Dundee are a very good hockey team. They have as good a top six as anyone in the league when healthy and a goalie very capable of winning them a hockey game themselves.

“For us, we obviously need Reegs (Kevin Regan) to be at his best. I think anytime you get into play-offs and want to make a run then your best player needs to be your goalie.”

Stewart’s men are full of confidence after a purple patch in the last seven weeks.

He added: “I can’t credit the guys enough for the work rate they have put in the last six or seven weeks. We have shown loads of character in this stretch and everyone is thrilled we are in the play-offs.

“Dundee have had a great season and have guys capable of winning hockey games.

“With the crowds we are getting, combined with our form, it makes Fife a very tough place to play. This is what we play for, moments like this.”

Doug Christiansen, Dundee’s bench coach, said: “We’ve been working hard in training, re-enforcing parts of our game we need to concentrate on in the double-header.

“Everybody in this team knows how big a mini-series this game is.

“We desperately want to make the final four and we’ll be doing everything we can to get there.”

He added: “The guys know that they will have to lift their game against a good team.

“Our job is to take care of ourselves and we realise this is a massive opportunity for our club.”