By Luke McGinnis
Marc LeFebvre’s men are coming off a split weekend against the EIHL’s top two teams — first securing an overtime win over the Nottingham Panthers before being shutout by the Sheffield Steelers.
“Overall, two points against a very good Nottingham team, we just didn’t create enough chances [against Sheffield],” said LeFebvre. “Lots of positive things from last weekend, I thought our compete was much better than it has been, and we’ve got to carry that into this weekend.”
Spencer Naas opened the scoring on Saturday, before the Panthers struck twice to make it 1-2. A late equaliser from Jackson DeSouza in his first game back from injury sent the game to overtime, where ex-Panther Otto Nieminen won it for the Stars with a phenomenal solo effort.
“We put a big onus on this game, getting off the schneid, and obviously where they are in the standings we knew it would be a 60 minute game or plus,” said Assistant Captain Matt Boudens post win. “I think that is a little confidence builder for us to know we can play with those big teams and have success.”
Dundee and Cardiff have met once so far this season, with the Stars scoring four unanswered goals in the third period to claim a massive 5-4 win on home ice.
The victory featured Matt Berry’s first EIHL hat trick — including the game-winning goal — along with a three-point night from Spencer Naas and a 38-save performance from Emil Kruse.
The Devils have claimed at least a point from each game since then, a streak Paul Thompson’s squad will be looking to continue in Dundee.
Brett Perlini leads the Welsh side offensively with 19 points, while Team GB netminder Ben Bowns has impressed, posting a .952 save percentage and a 1.38 goals-against-average en route to nine wins, including five shutouts.
This will be the sixth meeting between the Stars and Giants this season, with the sides having already faced off four times in Challenge Cup action and once in the regular season.
Their first clash came on opening night in Belfast, where Dundee stunned the reigning EIHL champions with a 7-4 victory. The following weekend, the Stars repeated the feat at home with a 5-2 win. A few weeks later, Dundee claimed a 5-4 shootout triumph at the Dundee Ice Arena, before the Giants responded with a 5-3 victory in Belfast.
The most recent matchup came less than two weeks ago, and saw the Giants claim their first victory of the season in Dundee with a 4-1 win. Jordan Kawaguchi leads his side with 16 points, while Jackson Whistle has backstopped the Giants to seven wins, posting a .919 save percentage and a 2.29 goals-against-average.
Faceoff for Saturday’s game against the Devils is scheduled for 7 p.m., while Sunday is set for 5 p.m.
