Captain Jake Morissette and his Cardiff Devils players are ready for the latest match in their Champions Hockey League adventure.
Elite League champions Devils are taking on some of the best teams in Europe and HC Davis, Swiss League ice hockey champions 31 times, are visitors to Ice Arena Wales on Sunday (6pm).
“It’s exciting for the team and Devils supporters, who are the best fans in Britain,” says Morissette.
“Nobody deserves to enjoy Champions League hockey more than they do.
“I’m really excited about our team for the new season, we have an amazing bunch of guys. It’s special to be a part of this club.
“The Champions League matches pose a major challenge for us and we have to play at our best against high end opposition.
“We had a good start against Liberec and led by two goals, but we didn’t sustain that. We were hoping for a better showing over the 60 minutes, but it wasn’t to be.
“There are a lot of lessons to be learned playing against opposing teams with the amount of skill and speed they have.
“It was difficult to prepare because we haven’t played Champions League hockey before. But we have loved the experience despite the results so far and on Sunday, against Davos, we are out to show how much we have progressed.”
Devils have suffered three defeated in three CHL group games, scoring six goals and conceding 22.
They led 2-0 against Liberec home and away before losing, while they suffered in the high altitude conditions at Davos and hit early penalty trouble.
Now they aim to show how much they have progressed by making it a far closer math against Davos at the IAW in Cardiff Bay.
Captain ’Mo’ is returning to his best after missing a lot of last season because of a foot injury and he says: “I’ve trained hard through the summer and feel good now.
“Big thanks are due to Dan Forbes, out strength and conditioning coach, for working with me through recovery and the off season.
“It feels awesome to be back out there with the team and we are excited about what’s to come over the season.
“We’ll give the CHL matches everything we have and they can only be good for our conditioning and sharpness.
“There is no doubt we’ve learned from the first three matches and we have to make more progress.
“We won three trophies last season and our aim is to make sure we compete for everything again and achieve success again.”
Morissette wears the C for Devils, while Joey Martin, Mark Richardson, Matthew Myers and Layne Ulmer are alternate captains.
“I don’t think too much about being captain because we have so many leaders on our team,” says Morissette. “I love being in Cardiff, I love being a Devils player and it’s fantastic to be part of what is a great team and a great bunch of guys.”
The two teams met last week in Davos when the home team skated away with a 10-1 victory. Sunday is Devils fourth CHL game in two weeks as they still are looking to get their first win in the competition.
HC Davos are one of the biggest clubs in Europe, but they are coming off a tough 5-3 loss against Swedish side Vaxjo Lakers.
Devils fans are excited to see HC Davos play in Cardiff for the very first time. The Devils are hoping for a big home crowd to bring the electric atmosphere that Ice Arena Wales has become known for.
Devils coach Andrew Lord is looking for a big response from his team.
“We need to come out hard like we did on Thursday against Liberec, but we then need to stay out of the penalty box and play a simple game.
“I thought we had a solid game plan and were executing well on Thursday against Liberec, but then we made some silly errors and gave them chances to score.”
The domestic season starts for Cardiff this month when they entertain new Elite League clubs MK Lightning and Guildford Flames in Challenge Cup action over the first weekend.
Lightning are at Ice Arena Wales on Saturday, September 9 (7pm), while Devils travel to play Guildford the next evening.
Their first Elite League fixture is at Sheffield Steelers on Saturday, September 16 before Nottingham Panthers are in Cardiff Bay on the Sunday (6pm).
Ticket information for Devils’ home matches, including Sunday’s clash with HC Davos, is available online via the Cardiff Devils official website or by phoning 0800 0842 666. Tickets can also be purchased in person from the main reception at Ice Arena Wales.