Tonight: Six teams in league action
Devils, Flyers & Steelers host Clan, Blaze & Flames
Three league games tonight see teams aiming to continue their good starts to the season - or get back to winning ways. Both Cardiff and Fife have yet to drop points in the league.
1900 Cardiff Devils vs. Glasgow Clan (Webcast)
It's groundhog day at the Viola Arena as the Devils entertain Glasgow for the second time six days. Sunday saw the Devils run our 5-3 winners, and since then they also picked up an overtime win in Guildford. Zack Fitzgerald's Clan are looking for their first league points of the season, in what is their second game of league action.
"We’re straight back into it, and these three games in four days is good early test to show our squad what this league is about - a lot of games, fast and furious hockey. We played Glasgow last weekend and although we won we know they cannot be under-estimated as they have a team with some good talent." - Andrew Lord (Head Coach, Cardiff Devils)
"We need to start winning games. We played well last week, and were there against them for most of it. If we can continue to improve each game, we’ll get the results." - Mathieu Roy (Forward, Glasgow Clan)
1900 Sheffield Steelers vs. Guildford Flames (Webcast)
Since losing in Nottingham and at home to Coventry, Aaron Fox's Sheffield Steelers have gone on to win all three of their subsequent games - the last in Dundee coming after overtime.
Guildford's start to the season has seen them pick up three points in two Challenge Cup games; their only league game to date was a 3-1 home loss to Nottingham.
"Guildford are a good, all-round hockey team. They're not overly physical, but fast. Anyone can beat anyone on any given night, so we have to be ready to compete for 60 minutes." - Aaron Fox (Head Coach, Sheffield Steelers)
"Sheffield are a good team who look as if they have a lot of offence this year. They’re always a strong team in this league, and we need to be prepared for the challenge. Hopefully we’ll have a body or two back in the lineup." - Paul Dixon (Head Coach, Guildford Flames)
1915 Fife Flyers vs. Coventry Blaze (Webcast)
The final game of Saturday night Sunday is a reverse matchup of the fixtures seven days ago. That night Fife left Coventry with a 4-1 win, and after backing that up with a 4-2 victory over Nottingham the Flyers continue at home to try and keep their unbeaten league start going. Coventry won in Sheffield during their opening weekend, but those are their only league points from three games.
"Playing teams in quick succession like we are with Coventry gives you a bit of an idea of what a team is like systematically and what their strengths and weaknesses are. It can have its advantages and disadvantages, but at the end of the day we all have to play each other a certain amount of times and it is about showing up in a season series. We got the early lead against Coventry but I am sure they will have something to say about that on Saturday and we are going to have to be strong, more creative and bring the work level we did against Nottingham last Sunday. We played decent against Coventry, especially in the opening 10 minutes. We felt we were in control for big parts of that game, but in other parts we relied heavily on our netminder, Adam Morrison." - Todd Dutiaume (Head Coach, Fife Flyers)
"Credit to Fife last weekend who came to our barn and played a smart road game. We need to be better on Saturday, and this week we’ve been focusing heavily on areas of our game that I felt let us down last weekend. Before that, our road form had been good and if we can play to the level I think we can, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be going up there confident." - Danny Stewart (Head Coach, Coventry Blaze)
