The Kitmart Dundee Stars have been given a lift ahead of their weekend fixtures against Manchester Storm and Belfast Giants, as at least three players are set to return to their line-up.

By Kris Smith

Head Coach, Omar Pacha has confirmed that attacking duo, Sebastian Bengtsson and Philippe Sanche will be in the line-up for Saturday night’s home game against Manchester.

Also, forward, Spencer Dorowicz is also considered day-to-day and could play a part in this weekend’s action and Kyle Haas will return for Sunday’s game after serving his 3 game suspension.

Dundee are currently stuck without a win in their last seven games but have yet to play a match with a full team available this season.

Saturday’s opponents, Manchester have won both previous meetings this year, as the Storm were 6-2 and 4-3 victors in the Storm Shelter, however they were unable to win in Dundee during the previous season.

The Stars top scorers in this matchup are Charlie Combs (1G, 2A), Dorowicz (2G) and Gabriel Desjardins (3A).

Meanwhile, Storm’s Adam Brady (3G) has netted the most times against Dundee and Cameron Critchlow and Curtis Hamilton each have a pair of goals from the two fixtures.

As the Taysiders suffered double defeats last weekend against Cardiff Devils and Guildford Flames, the team from Altrincham were also left pointless from there double header in Northern Ireland.

Ryan Finnerty’s men were on the losing end of 7-2 and 6-2 score lines at the SSE Arena and have been playing without Jacob Lutwyche, Scott Simmonds, Ben Solder and most notably, starting goaltender, Matt Ginn.

Discussing his team’s injury situation ahead of the weekend, Pacha was able to share positive news about the return of a few players.

He said: “Saturday is a big game, we are getting guys back but it will still be tough because we are still short on defence.

“Our goal now, is to press the reset button now that we have a few guys back.

“We have had a tough stretch and a lot of injuries but having a few guys coming back is a huge positive heading into the weekend.”

Speaking about the first home game against the Storm on Saturday, the Stars boss added: “We have played away there a few times now, so at home we have to use our own ice to our advantage and use our speed.

“We want to set the tempo nice and early against them, but it is never an easy game against Manchester or any team.

“We have to play the way we can and that is play well defensively and create chances offensively.

“For the last few days now, we have been working extremely hard on a few things and it is important now that we have some guys back in the line-up.

“So, we are excited for the weekend and it is a fresh start, so hopefully most of these injuries are behind us now and we can move forward.”

Making his return from injury tonight, Bengtsson then added: “Obviously we need as many bodies as possible to have the energy to play the way we want.

“It is hard for the team to play short on bodies night after night, so hopefully it will give the team a boost for these games.

“It is very important for the whole team to turn this losing streak around and get the two points and a win on Saturday.

“We really need to start winning games!”

Face-off times for this weekend’s matches are 7pm on Saturday in Dundee, you can buy your tickets HERE! and 4pm in Belfast on Sunday.

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Trade-Mart Dundee Stars Team
49 Games
19 Wins
23 Losses
7 OT Losses
45 Points