By Kris Smith
The Stars have had six days off since their last match and after losing out 4-2 to Cardiff in Dundee, they are eager to claim a win of their own against the Devils tonight.
Last Saturday, Spencer Naas had given the Stars the lead in the first period with a shorthanded goal but Brandon Alderson and Justin Crandall would score two quick goals in the second period to put Pete Russell’s men in front.
Naas then tied the game at 2-2 before Cole Sanford restored the Welsh club’s lead before the second intermission and the game would go right down to the final moments as Dundee pushed hard for another equaliser, but Crandall would score into an empty net to secure the win for Cardiff.
The Devils have also played twice since as they won 3-2 in overtime away to Glasgow Clan on Sunday before crashing out the Challenge Cup in the Quarter-Finals to the Braehead club on Wednesday, losing 6-5 on aggregate,
Whilst the Stars have slipped to seventh in the league table, they are only two points behind third-place and six behind Cardiff in second after 17 games played.
Stars Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre has taken his side to South Wales a day before the match in order to give his players the best opportunity to win tonight and he said: “We are just being professional.
“Anything more than five or six hours away you should be leaving the day before and that is a problem our league has.
“There should be a standard guideline across the league for those kinds of trips but it is something we are trying to work on.
“As for our own club, I think it is paramount that we get a good night’s sleep in the hotel and get ready for the big game on Saturday.”
Discussing the chance to take revenge on the Devils, he added: “It is just a game of errors, so it comes down to who is going to make the least amount of mistakes at critical times,
“You look across the league, every game is so tight and the league is so close.
“So, the margin for error is very small and one weekend you can be sitting in third and the next you could be in ninth, that is how tight the margins are and we cannot afford any mistakes.
Stars forward, James Phelan also shared how the confidence remains high in the team camp as they continue to prove to themselves that they can beat anyone.
He said: “We are feeling confident, we have a great group of guys and we have been proving that we can play with anybody and with Cardiff we have been right there with them.
“So, we are looking forward to getting on the road and getting there early for a good game on Saturday.
Phelan continued: “We feel like we owe them one.
“In both games we came close and the puck just did not bounce our way and we are confident that with hard work that eventually it will and we will be rewarded.
“We need to stay on our toes because as soon as you start to sink back and let them skate, they are a really good team and well structured.
“So, we just have to stay on our game, focus on ourselves and the best defence is offence, so we just have to keep them in their zone.”
Face-off for tonight’s game in Cardiff is at 7pm.
All images: James Assinder.
