A betting man would put money on the Southern Stampede to get two more wins in the double-header against Dunedin Thunder at the weekend.
After two rounds of the New Zealand Ice Hockey League the Stampede has won four games and Dunedin Thunder has lost four.
But that has not stopped Thunder player-assistant coach Jens van Poucke from being optimistic.
"In this league anything can happen," he said.
"In this league everything is possible.
"It depends how the teams come out of the locker room. We have guys in our squad who can make a difference."
The coach has put a lot of emphasis on mental skills during training at the Dunedin Ice Stadium this week.
"We wanted to get rid of the negatives from last weekend and look at the new weekend in a positive way," van Poucke said.
The key players in the Thunder squad are forwards Simon Christos, Stephen Vlok, Jordane Fazende ad goal tender Rick Perry.
Stampede manager Charlie Reid is also cautious about the game.
"Southern rivalry will come out and the Thunder will lift its game against us," he said.
But it is hard to bet against the record of the Stampede, which leads the competition on eight points and is followed by Canterbury Red Devils and Botany Swarm on four.
The Auckland Admirals and Dunedin Thunder have yet to register a win.
The Stampede has talented Ice Blacks Braden Lee (forward) and Stacey Rout (defender) in its team.
Lee has scored six goals this season and has also had two assists.
This is the fifth year of the league. The Southern Stampede won the competition in the first two years. Auckland team Botany Swarm has won the competition in the past two years.
The Stampede beat Botany Swarm 7-1 and 7-3 in the last two rounds at Auckland.
This weekend's games take place at the Queenstown Fun Rink at 7.15pm tonight and 4.30pm tomorrow.
