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It was close last year, but coach Janos Kaszala is confident the Dunedin Thunder can reach the final of the National Hockey League this year.
The Thunder finished third last year and missed the final by just one point. Its great rival, the Southern Stampede, hosted the final.
Kaszala (35) was player-coach of the Canterbury Red Devils team that won the national league in 2009 and coached the team for another two years.
When he came to Dunedin last year, the former Hungarian international said he wanted the Thunder to reach the finals within two years.
''That is still the plan,'' Kaszala said.
''But it will be a bit harder because we have so many new players.''
The Thunder had wins over all four of the other teams in the league last year. This included beating 2011 champion the Botany Swarm four times and the Red Devils, Stampede and Admirals twice.
''We gained more points last year than in the last four years combined,'' he said.
''In the final, there is only one game and anything can happen.''
The Thunder starts its campaign with a double-header against the Red Devils in Christchurch this weekend. The last round-robin games are on the weekend of August 10-11. The final will be played on August 17.
There are 16 new players in the Dunedin Thunder team this year. They include Ice Blacks goalie Aston Brookes, Connor Harrison and Mitchell Frear, who were in the Southern Stampede team beaten by the Red Devils in a penalty shootout final in Queenstown last year.
The four imports are new and four Dunedin-based players from last year's New Zealand under-16 team have been included in the squad. They are Ben Wallis, Noah Leahy, Tom Carson-Pratt and Michael Allan.
There are also players from Auckland and Christchurch who are studying at the University of Otago.
The imports are defencemen Lionel Simon and Guillaume Leclancher (France), forward Martin Pokorny (Czech Republic) and goalie Matt Canaday (Canada). Simon, who played in the French league for eight years, will meet the team in Christchurch today.
Canaday and Leclancher played for Kaszala when he was coaching the Red Devils. George Coslett also played for the Canterbury side, while forward Shaun Harrison comes from Auckland.
Key players for the Thunder will include two Ice Blacks, defenceman Regan Wilson and forward Paris Heyd.
Last year's imported players have returned home and the national league's top defenceman, Mike Morrison, has left. Cameron Frear has gone back to the Stampede, Bradley Apps to Christchurch and Ice Blacks goalie Rick Parry to Australia.
''Our roster is stronger than last year but the team is very, very young,'' Kaszala said.
''Most of the players are under 20.
''We have worked hard on our systems and our power play in pre-season training.''
There have been three warm-up games. In a squad game, the Imports beat the Kiwis 3-2 at the Dunedin Ice Stadium, and in games against the Red Devils, the Thunder had an 8-5 loss and an 8-8 tie.
Dunedin Thunder
The facts
Last year: Third.
Coaches: Janos Kaszala and James van Leeuwen.
Key players: Regan Wilson, Paris Heyd, Martin Pokorny, Lionel Simon.