By Luke McGinnis
Scott Dutertre’s men are coming off a strong win against the Glasgow Clan last Sunday, having shut out the Braehead side 3-0 in their preseason debut.
“I was really happy with our effort in that first game. You can tell we were still starting to get to know each other,” began Dutertre. “There were some nerves, and a little bit of rust, but we weathered the storm and found a way to win the game. I thought as the game went along we did a good job of settling down and working within our system.
“Our guys have been working very hard in practice. You already start to see some chemistry in our room in terms of how our players get along. Our veteran players have done a tremendous job of bringing the young guys in and keeping everybody together.
“It’s such an important thing early on for everybody to get to know each other. I think our guys are enjoying each other and enjoying coming to the rink every day,” added Dutertre.
Gary Haden opened the scoring for Dundee against his former squad, before goals from newly named captain Travis Ewanyk and Jonathan McBean secured the victory.
Vladislav Pestov made 29 saves during the first two periods of his Stars debut, before Dominick Jaglar secured the shutout with nine saves in the third.
“The first game of the season with a new group is never going to be the most polished performance, but I loved the effort the guys put in,” said Ewanyk. “It goes without saying Vlad and Dom both came up huge in net throughout the game, especially early on. I thought as a group we got better period by period and it gave us an early win to build off.”
HK Liepāja, who compete in the Optibet Hockey League in Latvia, are making the journey to the UK for the first time in franchise history, having suffered a 6-4 loss against the Glasgow Clan last night at the Braehead Arena.
Karlis Tamenieks opened the scoring for Liepāja early, while Sarunas Baltrunas, Niklavs Lagzdins and Daniels Andersons also found the back of the net.
“Playing teams we don’t know a whole lot about is always a unique challenge, but it gives us the opportunity to focus on our own game,” said Ewanyk. “We’re still learning new systems every day in practice and this weekend will just be another chance to apply those in an actual game setting.”
Latvian international Kārlis Ozoliņš led Liepāja in scoring with 54 points in just 35 games last season, including 28 goals, before adding a further eight points in nine playoff appearances.
For the upcoming season, he will be joined by a mix of young Latvian internationals who have represented their country on the World Junior stage, alongside veterans bringing a wealth of European experience.
“I think it’s important that we just come in with a business-like approach to what we do. We need to work on certain things to get ready for the season, and these games will give us a good opportunity to see how well we are grasping concepts and also help to set up who plays where in our opening roster,” concluded Dutertre.
“We have a passionate and loyal fan base here in Dundee and after the results of last season they are obviously going to be eager to see some positive performances. Every game early in the season, whether it be preseason or league play, is an opportunity to achieve some wins on home ice.
“First impressions are huge and I know this group is excited to put our best foot forward this weekend,” added Ewanyk.
