Stampede won the first game on home ice against West Auckland Admirals 4-3 after a penalty shootout, then the second 6-5 after being 6-3 ahead.
"In the first game we started a little bit slow and it took a while to find our feet and then the second game we probably started a bit better and then ... let up towards the end and made it a lot closer than it needed to be.
"Sometimes those close games are kind of what you need early in the season."
Having conceded three goals in power plays in the second game with players in the penalty box, Frear admits "we definitely have to work on our discipline, like, pretty much all of the good teams in this league have a good power play".
He says Admirals-turned-Stampede player Jordan Challis was "huge" for his game-tying goal in the first game 40 seconds from the end of regular time.
Stampede travel to Dunedin to play Phoenix Thunder tomorrow and on Saturday with Frear expecting two tough games.
