By Kris Smith
Last night’s results have put the Stars down to 10th in the Elite League standings but they are still tied with the ninth-placed Flyers on points and win tonight would see Dundee climb back into the top eight.
Yesterday evening saw the Stars go down 5-4 in Manchester against the Storm as after a scoreless first period, the home team were 4-1 ahead at the end of the second.
Defenseman, Chris Lidjsman scored his first as a Star to make it 2-1 before Manchester added two powerplay goals to give them a three-goal lead heading into the final stanza.
However, the Stars pushed back late on and goals from Hugo Reinhardt, Philippe Sanche and Johan Eriksson set up a tense finish.
After Manchester had gone 5-2 ahead with less than five minutes to play, Sanche and Eriksson struck just 90 seconds apart and left Dundee with 90 seconds to find an equaliser but the English club held on to claim the win.
Meanwhile, Fife were 3-2 winners in overtime as they took on Coventry Blaze at home and the pair also played out a goalless first period before Bari McKenzie put the home side ahead, but the Blaze would tie it, only for Reece Harsch to restore the lead.
In the third, Coventry again tied the game and overtime would be required, but deep into the extra time, Zack Phillips bagged the winner.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s derby, Stars Head Coach, Jeff Mason said: “We have had some pretty exciting nights here at the DIA over the last couple weeks and it is about bringing that energy and intensity right from the puck drop against Fife.
“We also need to be doing things to get the crowd into it early and get them behind you, then feeding off that energy.
“We have seen Fife a lot this season and know how to play against them.
“With where we are in the standings and the teams we play this weekend, we should not really need any extra motivation or adrenaline to get up for those games, because we should see the importance of them and our urgency should match that.”
Dundee captain, Drydn Dow then added: “It is definitely a big weekend for us, coming in we knew where everyone in the standings was, so these are two huge points on the line.
“We just need to get back to working hard on our systems and playing to the ability we know we can play at.
“We definitely have to use the energy that comes with those derby games and we know if we play our systems then that gives us the best chance to win, so it is important to stick with our gameplan and make sure we have a full effort a whole 60 minutes.”
The Canadian was renamed captain recently and after taking on the leadership role once again, he commented: “It is an honour to be named captain again, I want to lead more by example.
“There are a bunch of guys in the room that step up and have stepped up throughout the year, so I just want to continue to lead by example and do everything to help us achieve our goals.”
Face-off is at 5pm for tonight. Buy your tickets HERE!
All images: Derek Black.
