By Kris Smith
Forwards, Ben Sokay and Philippe Sanche both had a multi-point game against Cardiff Devils on Saturday while defenseman, Erik Näslund was part of the solid d-core that kept the Stars in from going behind at any point in the 5-3 win.
Reflecting on what his first win in a Stars shirt, Sokay said: “It feels really good because it had been a tough start but over the last few games, I thought we played well enough to deserve a couple wins.
“It definitely feels good to finally get the two points and that is what we have to do every night.
“It was a really good team effort and everyone played well and we definitely deserved that win.
Sokay has five goals through his first seven games after missing the majority of matches so far, after picking up an injury in the preseason, but the Canadian is happy to see the goals adding up to wins now.
Ben added: “All you can do is stick with it and keep things simple, which after coming back from injury is all I have been trying to do and it is definitely nice to see those goals adding up to wins.
“Winning is addictive and once you get that feeling you want it every game, so we are going to keep working hard and keep chasing that winning feeling.”
Swedish blueliner, Näslund was also proud to see the team finally get rewarded for their hard work and he said: “That win feels really good because we have been working hard lately to try and turn this negative trend of results around and we played really well against Cardiff and got the result we deserved.
“It shows that we are a good team and that we are capable of beating anyone.”
With Thursday night’s trip to Coventry next on the schedule and two recent losses against the Blaze, Erik insisted that the team feels they have a score to settle against the West Midlands club.
He explained: “It feels like we owe them one.
“Everything starts to feel easier after a big win and we will come into Thursday’s game with positive energy and that game will look completely different to the other previous games against Coventry.”
The former Fife Flyer is also looking forward to this weekend’s derby match against the Stars arch rivals, adding: “I think we have played pretty well in the derbies and they are always fun to play in, so the guys are looking forward to it.
“We have a good record against our rivals this season and now we have that win behind us, we will certainly go into that match with confidence.”
Second year pro, Sanche knows just what it takes to achieve your goals in this league after playing a huge roll in the team’s successful run all the way to playoff finals weekend last season.
Looking back on Saturday night’s big win, he said: “It feels good, obviously we had not played our best hockey here at home yet, so it was important to get a great result like that in front of our fans and we played a solid, full 60-minute game.
“We have to build on this win and keep pushing, we have another big game against Coventry on Thursday and a derby with Fife Saturday, so we have to keep building off that win and make sure we show up to every game, because that is how you win in this league.”
Every game is important, all-season long but the Canadian always places extra importance and a lot of excitement on the derbies with Fife and Sanche continued: “It was a massive result at the weekend and we will take the confidence with us to get ready for Thursday night.
“But then we know we always have to play a good game against Fife regardless, those are the most fun game for us as players and I am sure the boys will be ready for both games.”
Thursday night’s away game against Coventry faces-off at 7:30pm and will be shown live on Viaplay Sports and you can buy your tickets for Saturday’s home derby against Fife Flyers HERE.
