Dunedin Thunder captain Mat Enright is preparing his side to take the trip up the road for a double-header against their friendly rivals the Southern Stampede in Queenstown tonight and tomorrow.
"It’s what we all play for really," Enright said.
"It’s always a big, loud atmosphere, small ice, high intensity and highly physical."
The Thunder head into the game on the back of three straight wins, including one against top-of-the-table Botany Swarm and two "friendly" games against the Auckland Makos last weekend.
But the Stampede have looked strong all season and sit second on the table.
The Queenstown team also had a strong mental game, and while Thunder were a young group, they just needed to focus on each play at a time.
"We know we all have to dig really deep here.
"Since the start of the season, since we first played them, I think we have certainly matured as a team and kind of [the] mindset has changed a bit.
"We’ve proven that by winning against Botany Swarm.
"It just goes to show . . . we can make it happen, we’ve just got to make sure that everyone is really dialled in."
He was pleased the Thunder had the momentum from their three previous wins to carry in to the game and they had found a "rhythm" through those performances.
The Thunder had also focused on doing their homework on the Stampede, their game plan and preparing to mark up on their influential players.
Tonight’s game begins at 6.45pm as will the game tomorrow.
