By Kris Smith
On Saturday night in Kirkcaldy, Elijiah Barriga scored the second goal of the night in a 3-0 win over Fife Flyers and made it a pro-debut to remember.
Then on Sunday, defenseman, Ryan Verrier opened the scoring against Glasgow Clan with his first goal as pro hockey player.
Now the pair are enjoying the successful start the team has made to the season, as they gear up for their rookie campaign and aim for a long-run of success.
Discussing the win over Fife and his first goal, Barriga said: “It is good to get that first one out of the way, obviously it can come early or it can come late, but I am glad it came early.
“It was an exciting first pro game for myself and the boys played great tonight.”
The American also added his second goal of the weekend, when he netted the game-winner, whilst shorthanded, against Glasgow on Sunday.
Elijiah continued: “It was a tough game and a real nail-biter and a lot of special teams, but we got lucky at the end and came out with win, which is great because the boys worked really hard.
“It was huge to sweep the weekend in our first two Challenge Cup games and it was a real team effort, as we had a short-bench too, but the guys just fought hard all weekend.
“It is good start for us so we have to keep that going, and it is a long season, but right now we are playing well and we still have a few things to clean up.”
Fellow American, Verrier then talked through his experience of finding the net for the first time in the pro-game.
Ryan said: “It feels great, you definitely black out in those moments as you are not really looking to score a goal, you are just trying to play hard.
“It was a great play by Elijiah, who recognised that the strong-side forward did not have stick, so he passed the puck to me and I was able to walk and get a shot on net, with a good screen and it ended up going in.
“So, it is a good start for the team, we kind of got the juices flowing and that kept us going for the rest of the game.”
With the Stars taking all four points from the opening weekend, Verrier also discussed the good start the team have made and what it can mean going forward.
He added: “It is really good to get that first sweep under the belt and know you can compete in those games, late in the week, but we have already switched to focusing on Thursday and getting ready for that, so we can continue this streak.”
Do not miss out on this Thursday’s Tayside Derby as we host Fife Flyers at 7:30pm, get your tickets NOW!
Banner image: Flyers Images.
Featured image: Derek Black.
