Tony Hand believes his squad is improving every week and that will be tested when Dundee Tigers visit Murrayfield on Sunday in the Scottish National League (SNL) (face-off 6pm).
Murrayfield Racers’ director of hockey says the mood in the squad is good despite back-to-back defeats in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) North Cup to Billingham Stars (8-2) on the road and Blackburn Hawks in Edinburgh.
Racers led twice in the Blackburn game through Daniel Abercrombie and Joel Gautschi before being edged 3-2 and the Murrayfield Racers legend said there is still a lot of work to do.
Hand added: “Our NIHL North Cup experience has been
great for the guys.
“We’re back on SNL business this weekend and we’re up against to strong Dundee side.
“Thankfully, we have no injuries or suspensions to concern us and we can fully concentrate on the game.”
Racers have two points in the SNL courtesy of their 5-3 home win over North Ayrshire Wild who have since won two games, a 9-1 victory at Solway Stingrays and a 24-3 romp against the same side on home ice.
However, nobody else has played a game and Hand hopes to capitalise on home advantage.
Tigers lost 9-2 at Aberdeen Lynx on September 1 in their only previous league outing this term.
The Tayside team certainly have experience with 42-year-old, Dundee-born Paul Guilcher in the line-up along with 40-year-old defenceman Ian Carstairs, the club’s coach.
Ian’s brother Graeme, who also plays in defence, is 38 as is fellow blue-liner Stuart Barnett but the side has youth in defenceman Drew McLaggan, who is 19, plus Ryan Amos and Callum Turnbull, who are both 18, up-front.
And Lithuanian forward Pavel Piskov from Vilnius is the only imported player listed in their squad which also boasts a 16-year-old forward, Jack Terroni.
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