Braehead Clan forward Ben Davies says Saturday’s home visit by Gardiner Conference rivals Dundee Stars is a huge game for both clubs.
It’s second versus third in the Conference and although the Stars have a six-point advantage, Clan have four games in hand on Marc Lefebvre’s men.
After taking eight points from a possible 12 in their Elite League games over Christmas and New Year, the Welshman thinks things are on the up at last.
He said: “Coming off a couple of wins over the festive period and picking up the points we did, we seem to be turning a tide.
“The boys have put in some good performances and practice has been good as we work on different things, so things are certainly looking up for us.
“It’s a huge game for both of us and every game from now on in is big, certainly the games in the Conference and especially when we come up against Dundee.
“They’ve done well this season and they’ve beaten us a couple of times, as have we, and we certainly can’t take them for granted. We have to use the home advantage on this one.
“We’ve had some closely fought battles this year and they’re certainly not the Dundee Stars that finished bottom of the league last season.
“They are a much improved team and we have to be firing on all cylinders when they come to us on Saturday.”
After Dundee’s visit to Glasgow, Clan head to Manchester Storm on Sunday, again with two Gardiner Conference points at stake.
But as the season moves into the second half and those points become more valuable, Davies refuses to get ahead of himself and is concentrating on the present.
He added: “Coming out of the Christmas period, you look at the schedule and the teams you have to face and we’re looking at our games and taking them one at a time.
“After Saturday, we will go to Manchester on Sunday with a positive attitude and we know they’ve suffered a shortage in numbers in recent games.
“Obviously that doesn’t factor too much with us and we’ll just be concentrating on ourselves when we go there, but again, they aren’t a team to be taken lightly.
“All we can do at the moment is focus on getting four points from the whole weekend then go from there.”
(Image permission: Al Goold Photo)
