| There were fears the team would be playing with only seven imports after Canadian forward Derek Bekar told Stars bosses he was leaving just a week after he arrived.
Bekar has gone to the Springfield Falcons in the AHL, despite signing for the Stars for the remainder of the season.
However, Lochi has been back training this week after sitting out for several weeks with a dislocated shoulder, and is expected to play.
Stars have two home games this weekend, against Milton Keynes Lightning (Challenge Cup) tomorrow and Guildford Flames (BNL) 24 hours later.
The away leg of the Milton Keynes cup game was abandoned halfway through due to a hole in the ice.
Stars coach Roger Hunt was delighted to have Lochi back, for, what he predicts, will be a difficult weekend.
He said today, “Patric Lochi trained this week and it looks as though he will be playing, so that’s good news.
“Both games will be tough, because we’ve got guys who are just getting back from injury and Lightning and Flames can be pretty hard teams to wear down.
“I’m looking for good performances, just like the one against Sheffield last weekend.
“We should have some of the Scottish National League guys playing for us this weekend, such as Ali Haddanou and Andy Samuel, so that will help bolster the squad.
“Paddy Ward was on the bench last week, but didn’t play. However, we hope to have him back very soon. Chad Reekie is back from illness, too, although he hasn’t been training for about three weeks, so it’ll take some time for him to get back to full fitness.
“Again, I’d just like to thank the fans for getting behind the team over the last few weeks.”
Face-off times this weekend are: tomorrow — 7.30 pm; Sunday — 6.30 pm. |
