Tonight: Giants, Panthers, Stars, Storm in Challenge Cup

Two games this evening in the Challenge Cup

The hunt for Challenge Cup glory continues tonight with two games in the Group Stage.

1900 Belfast Giants vs. Dundee Stars (Webcast)

Belfast return to home ice after last week's league defeat in Manchester looking to tie Dundee for top spot in Group A of this season's Challenge Cup. They began their campaign with a big home win over Glasgow a week ago.

The Stars for their part still lead the group, but have not played in the cup since being shut out by Fife a fortnight ago. Omar Pacha's team haven't won since their opening weekend double over Glasgow, but last week's fightback against Sheffield will no doubt inspire confidence.

"Saturday’s game is an important one for us to respond. Dundee already have four points in the group and we know that games last season against the Stars hurt us. We need to make sure we take care of ourselves and are ready to go come Saturday." - Adam Keefe (Head Coach, Belfast Giants)

"Obviously Belfast are doing a great job representing this league in the Champions Hockey League and they are well-coached and experienced. They have good forwards, defence and goaltenders and they are very dynamic all over the ice, so we just have to play our game and worry about what are doing and work from there. A lot of our personnel is new so we are still getting used to each other. We haven’t played a ton of games here, so we are still just trying to get used to each other and the guys that haven’t played in this league before are trying to get used to the pace and style of play. We are doing a great job and just sometimes, we haven’t been getting the bounces and well that’s just a part of hockey." - Matt Marquardt (Captain, Dundee Stars)

1900 Manchester Storm vs. Nottingham Panthers (Webcast)

After beating the defending league champions in overtime last Sunday, Manchester turn their attention to the Challenge Cup with high spirits. Ryan Finnerty's side are the only team in Group C without a point to their name yet, but having only played one game they still have seven more to book a direct place in the next round.

Nottingham came back from Scotland last weekend with two points from their pair of games, and in the cup trail Sheffield by a win having played a game less. 

"Tonight’s another great test for our group. Nottingham have built a great team and we get to see where we stack up against them." - Ryan Finnerty (Head Coach, Manchester Storm)

"You have to win your battle all the time, especially when we play Manchester. I’ve heard the ice surface is very small there, so it’s going to be tight with probably a lot of physical hockey- so you’ve to win your own man-on-man battles out there." - William Quist (Forward, Nottingham Panthers)