By Kris Smith
Tonight at the Spectrum Arena, there will be a reunion for former Flames-turned-Stars, Chris Gerrie and Mac Howlett with their old club and they will be hoping for a win, so that they can take some points back to Dundee after last night’s 5-2 loss against Manchester Storm.
On Saturday night in Altrincham, the Stars came out of the first period tied at 1-1 after Elijiah Barriga’s goal cancelled out the lead Manchester had taken through Jake Bricknell, but two powerplay goals by Jesper Ohrvall put the home team 3-1 ahead after the second.
In the third, Drydn Dow scored just three seconds into the powerplay to cut the lead to one, but the Storm would hit two more goals home in the final 10 minutes to claim a 5-2 victory, as Stephen Johnson netted, before Ohrvall completed his hat-trick.
Meanwhile, Guildford have had the best start to the league campaign that Paul Dixon could have hoped for and have been floating around the top of the league standings all season.
Last night, they beat Belfast Giants 4-3 at home thanks to goals from Kyle Locke, Daniel Tedesco, Brett Ferguson and Sam Marklund.
Although, the Flames remain tied at the summit of the table with the Surrey side now holding a record of seven wins and two losses through their first nine games, but since their eight-match winning run was halted, they have struggled to string more wins together.
Speaking before tonight’s match, Stars Head Coach, Jeff Mason said: “Guildford are obviously top of the table right now and got off to a great start, they are a very fast team and play quick and hard, but it is also another building that is tough to go and play in, so I expect another good matchup.
“We need to focus on our game and stick to what has made us successful and hopefully come out with two more points.”
With it being the Stars fourth away game in a row, he continued: “Playing on the road is part of the game and we are professionals, so we cannot use those things as excuses and guys just have to find ways to be ready and find a consistent approach that works for them, so they can be just as good on the road, as at home.
“Guildford are a really fast team, so we have to respect their speed and make sure we are above their options defensively and we will have a good talk about it before the game and the specific things we want to do and then we will adjust as the game gets going.
“We have not seen them yet this season, so it is new to us but we are also new to them and I expect us to go in there and put in a solid effort.”
Face-off for tonight’s match in Guildford is at 7:10pm, after a on-ice delay prior to the warm-ups.
All images: Derek Black.
