By Kris Smith
The Stars enter the final weekend of the league campaign holding onto eighth place by just two points and must better Manchester Storm’s results to stay above the English outfit.
Tonight, Dundee head to the West Coast to battle the Clan before having Saturday night off and then welcoming Fife Flyers to the DIA on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, Manchester host Guildford Flames tonight and will visit Fife Flyers tomorrow for their final game of the regular season, meaning the Stars will head into Sunday’s Tayside Derby either already qualified for the playoffs or they will at least know what is required.
However, if the Storm win both of their matches and the Stars lose in Glasgow, any situation where Dundee are level on points with Manchester, would see the Altrincham side claim the final playoff berth, as they have more regulation wins and a better head-to-head record against the Taysiders this season.
Tonight, Corey Neilson’s Clan stand in Dundee’s way and the Glaswegian’s have already won six times out of nine against Dundee so far in this campaign, with the most recent meeting in the City of Discovery ending in a 4-3 overtime win for the Clan.
Glasgow have won only twice in their last nine matches, losing their last five games on the bounce but the Braehead side are safe in seventh place and cannot be caught by Dundee, as they hold a five-point lead over the Stars.
Discussing this weekend’s matches, Stars Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre said: “We just have to worry about our own business.
“Glasgow are a big rival for us and they have not been playing the best lately but they will want to be at their best in front of their own fand and we know what to expect in that building.
“We have seen them a lot this season, they have a lot of firepower, speed and size, so we have to break them down and take away their chances.
“If we play our game and take care of our own business then we will clinch a playoff spot.”
The Stars boss then shared what his message has been to his players ahead of their biggest weekend of the season.
He said: “We just need to play our game and focus on what we can control.
“We maybe forget that we are still in the driving seat and sometimes you lose sight of that when you have a team creeping up behind you.
“So, we just have to focus on ourselves and take care of our own business then we will not need to worry about anyone else.”
Face-off for tonight’s road game in Glasgow is at 7:30pm.
All images: Al Goold.
