Two losses have left the Dunedin Thunder with work to do if it is to catch the National Ice Hockey League's top three.
The side was beaten 6-4 and 2-1 by the competition-leading West Auckland Admirals in Auckland over the weekend.
That leaves it in fourth place on nine points, the gap from fourth to third moving from one point to six.
That came after the Botany Swarm beat the Canterbury Red Devils twice to move from 10 points and leapfrog the Stampede, which had a bye, into second.
The Thunder showed plenty of fight against the Admirals.
Down 5-0 at the end of the second period in the first game, it clawed its way back to a respectable 6-4 at the final buzzer, Brandon Egli scoring a hat-trick.
Ben Gavoille gave the Thunder a 1-0 lead in the second period of the second game. However, the Admirals scored twice in the final period to win.
The Thunder returns home to play the Red Devils on Friday and Saturday.
