Braehead Clan netminder Chris Holt believes demand will be high on new Sheffield Steelers’ new goalie in Saturday’s Elite League game.
Steelers make the trip to Glasgow with new signing Marek Pinc in for the injured Tyler Plante and Holt thinks Plante’s earlier displays have increased expectations on the new man.
He said: “Steelers are a good club, with physical players and talented forwards so there is definitely danger there. But losing Tyler Plante through injury was a blow to them.
“I thought he was one of the better goalies in the league and Pinc has come in and I’m expecting there will be some pressure on him to deliver early on.
“It’s never easy to come into a new team in the middle of a season where high performances are demanded from the off, especially given how well Tyler has played so far.
“Overall, we’re going to be in for a 60-minute war against them and I don’t suspect for a second it will be a 6-0 rout like last week, that’s for sure.”
Belfast Giants travel to Cardiff Devils on Saturday looking to extend their lead at top of the table.
Giants go into the weekend three points ahead of the Devils and Nottingham Panthers after Thursday night’s 6-3 win against Edinburgh Capitals, and Player/Coach Derrick Walser expects a tough game in Wales.
“Cardiff on the road – I understand it’s a whole different ball-game there,” said Walser. “It’s not fancy hockey there. I think we learned our lesson in Manchester.
“You just can’t go out there and wing it, you gotta stick to what makes it works, but we’ll need to make some minor adjustments to how we’re going to play there.
To hear Devils’ Player/Coach Andrew Lord’s thoughts on the weekend ahead please see the video above.
WEEKEND FIXTURES
Saturday
Braehead Clan v Sheffield Steelers
Cardiff Devils v Belfast Giants
Dundee Stars v Edinburgh Capitals
Fife Flyers v Manchester Storm
Nottingham Panthers v Coventry Blaze
Sunday
Belfast Giants v Dundee Stars (Elite Challenge Cup)
Coventry Blaze v Braehead Clan
Edinburgh Capitals v Fife Flyers
Manchester Storm v Cardiff Devils
Sheffield Steelers v Nottingham Panthers
