By Kris Smith
This weekend concludes the preseason for the Scottish teams as they all turn their attention to the inaugural Scottish Elite Cup hosted by the Edinburgh Capitals. Dundee will have a boost to their line-up as Marc-Oliver Mimar and Patrick Lee will ice for the first time in a Stars shirt.
The first game on Saturday takes place at 2pm as the Stars will face-off against their auld rivals, the Fife Flyers. Dundee come into the game off the back of a 3-2 victory against the Caps on Wednesday evening and will look to continue with their strong start to the season under new coach Omar Pacha.
Gabriel Lévesque, Adam Harding and Jimmy Jensen were all the score sheet against the Caps mid-week and will be heavily watched by the Flyers defence. Dundee have dangermen all over the ice, as well as the three goal scorers, Fife will also have to be wary of Riley Stadel, Taylor Dickin and Malcom Gould who have already bagged goals in the pre-season.
The Flyers possess their own threats in the returning; Chase Schaber, Shayne Stockton and Carlo Finucci but also in new signings Danick Gauthier and Peter LeBlanc. The Fifers have really bolstered their attacking options after failing to retain the services of their top point scorers Mathew Sisca and Ryan Dingle.
Todd Dutiame has managed to keep Chris Wands, Ex-Star James Isaacs and Russ Moyer on the Flyers blueline this year but has found a new netminder in Andy Iles. Fife could be a tough team to beat this year, during their preseason games last weekend, they won 3-1 against Herlev Eagles before losing 4-1 on the Sunday night in Kirkcaldy.
Talking ahead of the weekend, Omar said: “My exceptions are to get better on a daily basis. We are a brand new team essentially, though we have to make sure to progress on the ice every single day.”
The Edinburgh Capitals take on the Braehead Clan at 5:30pm for Saturdays second Semi-Final, the winners of each Semi-Final will play in the Final on Sunday at 6:30pm, with the third/fourth place game at 3pm.
