The Dunedin Thunder and the Stampede are at very different stages in their development.
The form book suggests the Stampede will be too strong for its rival in the derby matches at the Dunedin Ice Stadium tonight and tomorrow evening.
The back-to-back champion made an impressive start to its campaign with 6-1 and 7-4 wins against the Canterbury Red Devils in Queenstown late last month, while the Thunder registered two 7-3 losses to the West Auckland Admirals on its home ice last weekend.
The teams met during the pre-season with the Stampede recording 9-0 and 9-4 wins, so most of the evidence points towards a comfortable couple of wins for the Stampede.
But Thunder coach Matt Hladun believes his side is better than initial results suggest.
''Obviously the score didn't go our way [against the Admirals] but we were in the game for most of the match,'' he said.
''But we let up during the start of the second period and kind of lost our focus and started making some mistakes.
''They were able to capitalise and that set the tone for the games.
''For us, it is a matter of playing a full 60 minutes. But the Stampede is highly rated and, if we give them those sort of chances, they will capitalise as well.
''We've got to be more focused but overall there were some good signs.''
Hladun said the key for the Thunder woud be to play smarter hockey and for the individuals to make sure they got into good positions, rather than chasing the puck so much.
The team was exposed against the Admirals when it went away from those basics.
''I think the skill level and everything is good enough to compete with them but we kind of have to get rid of those mental miscues.''
Hladun felt the lopsided losses against the Stampede during the pre-season was not a good indication of his team's ability.
''We won't even look at those results as a good comparison because we had a very short squad and, I think, only one of our imports.
''It was a good learning experience for some of our younger guys but we we're quite a different team from then.''
Thunder forward Felipe Aguirre Landshoeft has been ruled out with a wrist injury. He has an X-ray scheduled and could be sidelined for longer if he has sustained a fracture.
Stampede coach Adam Blanchette could not be reached for comment.
