By Kris Smith
Both the Stars and the Flyers began their preseason camps this week with Dundee’s starting on Monday and Tom Coolen’s camp in Kirkcaldy beginning on Tuesday.
Last year, the two Tayside rivals finished tied on points in the regular season with the Stars number of wins lifting them into seventh and above the Flyers as each team would go on to be eliminated in the quarter-finals of the playoffs.
Marc LeFebvre’s men won five of their six league contests against Fife in the last campaign but were unable to win either of their Challenge Cup Group Stages games against the Kirkcaldy outfit.
The two teams also met twice in preseason last season with the Stars winning the first match 3-2 after overtime in Kirkcaldy, with returning forward Jake Elmer scoring the winner for Dundee.
The Flyers then responded by claiming a 4-0 win on the road the following night but this season they will travel to Dundee tonight before hosting the Stars in their barn on Sunday evening.
With 14 new faces added to the Stars squad this summer, their will be a few missing from this weekend’s matches as Kameron Kielly and Ben O’Connor are yet to arrive on Tayside, with O’Connor currently on international duty with Team GB.
Both clubs have some key players returning for another year with Dundee’s third-highest point scorer, Brendan Harms and skilful dangerman, Elmer both signed up again, adding to their stable defensive core which contains; Drydn Dow, Kyle Pouncy and Xavier Pouliot.
Meanwhile the Flyers have retained the services of Shane Owen, Drake Pilon and Lucas Chiodo but have also strengthened their squad with more Elite League experience through the additions of Martin Latal, Johnny Curran and Austin Farley, whilst the Dundee have acquired the talents of Cole MacDonald, Alex Tonge and Jarrett Fiske.
There will also be the chance for three local talents to show the Stars boss what they can do as Dominick Jaglar, Joshua Saunders and Gary Kelly, who are all on two-way contracts with Dundee and Scottish National League clubs, will be involved throughout the weekend.
Looking ahead to his side’s first preseason test, Stars Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre said: “It is the biggest game for us in terms of our rivalry, so I am sure the fans will be amped up, especially to play Fife.
“I know it is only preseason and the results do not matter too much but they matter to the fans, so we want to give them a good show on tonight.
“We will not have our full line-up but it will give me a chance to look at some of our two-way players as well and see what they can do, so it is all in preparation for the real thing in two weeks.”
American goaltender Fiske will be back-stopping the Stars in tonight’s home opener and he shared his excitement ahead of his debut performance, commenting: “I am very excited for the opportunity to play in front of our fans in this first game.
“It is so surreal and I am looking forward to the challenge.”
Face-off for tonight’s home game is at 7pm.
