By Kris Smith
The Stars start the weekend off in Glasgow looking for their fourth consecutive win away from home and are also seeking vengeance after losing on their last trip to Braehead Arena.
Since then, Dundee have only lost once and are coming off an impressive week of results, where they secured back-to-back wins over Sheffield Steelers and also a mid-week victory over Cardiff Devils.
With netminder, Brython Preece subbing in for the injured Adam Morrison, the 24-year-old has won all of his first three starts for Dundee, starting with a 5-4 shootout win in Sheffield last Saturday.
Charlie Combs, Connor Sills (2) and Gabriel Desjardins all found the net inside 60 minutes, but it was Sebastian Bengtsson who scored the game-winning penalty shot to seal the two points for the Stars.
The Taysiders then came home and held the Steelers to just one goal as Dillon Lawrence tied the game late, before Kalvis Ozols netted the overtime winner, to complete a four-point weekend against Sheffield.
Then on Wednesday night, the Scots played host to Cardiff and secured a third successive win at home against the current league champions.
Desjardins (2), Combs, Spencer Dorowicz and Philippe Sanche provided the key goals that lifted them past the Devils, as Preece continued to impress in his first string of starts in the Elite League.
Whereas, Malcom Cameron’s side have lost their last two fixtures and were on the wrong end of an 8-1 pummelling on Wednesday night in Coventry.
The Blaze had put five past Glasgow in just 18 minutes and were 8-0 ahead before Colton Yellow Horn prevented the West Midlands club from getting a shutout.
So far this season, the Stars have met the Clan three times with Dundee winning the first encounter 5-2 on home ice.
However, the Braehead-based club then claimed a 5-3 victory on Tayside in the second clash and were victorious again when they played host.
In the last match, the Clan were ahead 3-0 after two periods but the Stars began to fight back in the third, only for them to lose 5-2.
It was Sanche and Sills who found a way past Shane Starrett that night, but goals from Mikko Vainonen, Mitch Jones, Braylon Shmyr, Mathieu Roy and Guillaume Gauthier kept the West Coast side out of reach.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Stars Head Coach, Omar Pacha said: “It was a big win on Wednesday and great to get the two points, but it is so tight with Glasgow in the standings.
“So, it is going to be like a playoff series and I am sure there will be a lot of excitement around those games.
“They play hard, they defend hard and they have solid goaltending, so for us it just about making sure we play well defensively and creating as many opportunities as we can.
“It is always a tough building to play in but the last time we were there, I thought we played but just did not get the points and hopefully this time we can play even better and get the right result.”
With his team on a three-game winning streak away from home, the Stars boss added: “It took a while, but we have learned how to play on the road.
“I feel like we have a bit of momentum now playing away from home, so it is hugely important to keep that going.”
Forward, Desjardins, who now has six points in the last six games, then added: “We found a way on Wednesday night, but this is a big weekend ahead and we are looking forward to it.
“Until the end now, every game is going to be a playoff game, so the guys are ready for that and we feel confident and sharp.
“Glasgow are a hard working team, so we will have to work really hard and continue to bring our A-game on Saturday and Sunday.”
Face-off times for this weekend’s matches against the Clan are at 7pm in Glasgow on Saturday and then 5pm in Dundee on Sunday.
