ICE HOCKEY: MICHAL Dobron sat in the dressing-room at Murrayfield with his plans on a whiteboard clutched firmly in his hand and declared: “We can win in Sheffield.”
Edinburgh Capitals’ player/coach has been buoyed by the performance of his low-cost squad in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw Challenge Cup, quarter-final, first-leg, with the big-budget men from The House of Steel.
And the 6ft 2in defenceman is not concerned about the wall of noise his men will face in Yorkshire from Steelers army of success-hungry fans in the second-leg on Saturday (face-off 7pm) in Ice Sheffield.
Prague-born Dobron will ice a full-strength squad in what is the biggest game of the season so far for ambitious Capitals who would love to make club history by qualifying for the final four of the Challenge Cup.
And the playcaller is unlikely to switch lines which worked so successfully in Sunday’s 8-2 Elite League thrashing of misfiring Coventry Blaze and again on Wednesday.
It was an optional training session for the squad on Thursday night after a gruelling battle against Sheffield on Wednesday but many of the squad turned up as they are so keen to claim a place in the next round.
The 37-year-old Czech Republic defenceman conceded that Capitals will be fully-stretched at Ice Sheffield, the smaller of the two city rinks, and he said: “Sheffield are a very good team. They have good skaters and are very quick around the ice. We know that and we will watch for that.
“We also can’t let them play their game but I believe if we play in the style we did here (at Murrayfield) then we can go there and win.”
He argued that it was crucial to keep Sheffield’s eager forwards to long-range shots and to give Edinburgh’s highly-rated, 29-year-old, former Braehead Clan netminder, Travis Fullerton, an early sight of the puck.
He added: “We also have to clear rebounds and, if we do all that, then we can win. They (Sheffield) also have a very good goaltender and if we get chances then we have to take them. He made some saves her (at Murrayfield) on Wednesday.
“But I believe we are getting better and better as a team during the season and we can make a game of this. We took Sheffield to the wire here (in Edinburgh) and our job is to go there and work hard and win the game.”
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