By Kris Smith
Born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, just outside of Minneapolis, Spencer arrived in Dundee this summer after completing his fifth season of pro hockey and spent the last year with Savannah Ghost Pirates in the ECHL.
In what would be his third venture into the European game, Naas would score his first point as a Star with an assist on Drydn Dow’s goal in the 3-2 home shootout win against Manchester Storm and once he got going, he has been unstoppable.
Spencer has already recorded 13 points (7G, 6A) in his first 15 EIHL games, with 11 of those points coming in his last six appearances.
Discussing his recent red-hot form, the American said: “There has been a good feeling in the team right now, obviously we had that rough stretch there and did a lot of things to try and generate momentum.
“So, it has been nice in the last few weeks to see it paying off as a team and it is always fun when you can contribute and get things going offensively as well and whatever I can do to contribute I am going to keep trying to do that.”
Last weekend’s 6-4 and 6-2 wins over Scottish rivals, Fife Flyers and Glasgow Clan were landmark victories for the team as the season gets into full swing, but Naas also had his best weekend to date as he produced four goals and an assist.
“We all put a bit of extra emphasis on those Scottish derby games and to get two wins as a team at the weekend is awesome but for them to be against Fife and Glasgow is an extra bit special”, he added.
Explaining how he has been able to be so productive, Spencer heaped the praise onto his linemates, who have also been finding the back of the net.
He said: “Coach put me with Ryan (Valentini – 5G, 10A) and Brendan (Harms – 4G, 6A) and right away there was great chemistry between us, I thought.
“We started together against Belfast and we scored on literally our first shift together and I thought right away that set the tone for the team that night and the three of us have been able to build off that.
“We do not care who scores or who gets the assists or whatever, it has been a group effort and I really enjoy playing with them, they have certainly had a big part to play in the success I have had.”
Naas and the Stars are now set for a challenging weekend against Guildford Flames who have also recently put together a good run of results as they chase last season’s spectacular second place finish and aim to go one better this time.
Looking ahead to the visit of Paul Dixon’s side before a trip to Surrey, Naas commented: “Every game is huge for us, every point is crucial and we know Guildford are a good team and it is fun to play against good teams, so we are going to have them here on home ice on Saturday and look to capitalise on that, then we go to Guildford and try to do the job down there too.
“We know both games are going to be tough, but we are excited for it because the way we are playing right now, we feel we can play with anyone in the league.”
You can watch Spencer and the Stars on home ice this Saturday, get your tickets HERE!
