After our two victories against the Southern Stampede last weekend, we are still sitting second on the New Zealand Ice Hockey League table.
However, now we are tied with the Botany Swarm and only three points away from the Canterbury Red Devils.
This weekend, we have the chance to climb to the top of the table in our battle against the West Auckland Admirals at the Dunedin Ice Stadium.
After our last bye, the team is looking forward to the next four weeks of the season.
It's always hard after a break to come back on the ice with the same intensity, but surprisingly the practices this week have been really intense, with a lot of skating and team play to make sure our systems are well established.
And now we know, more than ever, that our biggest strength is our group.
I have played for a few teams back in France, and I have never seen that much friendship in any of my teams.
When you go to practice, you are happy to go and play hockey, but also because you know you are going to see your friends.
When everything is going good off the ice, it is easy to translate this spirit on to the ice, and it is this dynamic that makes the Dunedin Thunder so exceptional.
Half of the season is done and, as we wished, we are on the straight and narrow to the final.
Coach Janos Kaszala had a precise idea of how he wanted us to play, with a system that is simple and accurate, based on speed and discipline.
His second point was our power play. Last year, something was missing and this led to us being unable to continually put the puck in the net.
After hard practices, we are getting better and better every game. As proof, I think we have already scored more goals on power play this year, after eight games, than last year in the whole season.
We know a lot of our strength also comes from our fans. A big thanks to the crowd, which gets bigger and louder at every game. We are expecting everybody to be there with us this weekend at the Dunedin Ice Stadium. Games are today at 5pm and tomorrow at 1pm.
Let's go, Green Machine!
- Ben Gavoille is a 24-year-old French ice hockey player with the Dunedin Thunder. He will contribute a regular column during the national league season.
