ZACH Hervato believes Hull Stingrays must find a stronger mental edge if they are to put a consistent run of form together.
So far, Stingrays have failed to pull off back-to-back wins this season.
At times, some of their poorest performances have followed some of their best.
At others, they have failed to build on their excellent displays.
Hervato, though, says that's a more mental than physical problem.
He said: "We know how we can play and know what we need to do to win, but we need to be mentally stronger.
"It's a matter of putting it in our heads and doing it and having the confidence that our team-mates beside us will do it too."
Having lost 4-3 in a relatively poor display in Coventry, the Rapid Solicitors Stingrays found a way to win 4-3 after penalty shots 24 hours later against Blaze.
Dundee await tonight at Hull Arena, with both sides having registered two away wins each from their four encounters this season.
"I missed a couple of games against them due to injury," said Hervato.
"Dundee have some good forwards and a lot of skilled talent up front and they are big, but they are slower than us. We need to cycle them and wear them down. We are younger and with our energy we should be able to come out with a win if we play like that."
Hervato remains confident Stingrays can break their home win duck against the Stars, who have yet to recapture their form from last season.
Back-stopped by keeper Dan Bakala, they swept to the Gardiner Conference title, defeating Stingrays seven times in eight meetings.
This time around, though, they languish at the foot of the Elite League table, with just three wins from 17 matches.
Rumours abound that coach Jeff Hutchins is sharpening the axe and will cull some of his under-achievers.
"We just need to play the way we are playing, take the positives out of Saturday's defeat and carry on what we did against Coventry on Sunday," said Hervato.
"We need to string together more than one win at a time, it's about playing consistently.
"For the first game we didn't play to our potential but we were still in it, so that was a positive.
"Sunday was amazing, the team played really well.
"We battled hard, and never gave up on either Saturday or Sunday, and showed a lot of character.
"We wanted the regulation win but we battled through some five-on-threes and got it to overtime and then penalty shots.
"That's a good sign for the rest of the season to come."
What Hervato neglects to mention is that he netted a goal and the winning penalty shot on Sunday, to add to his goal on Saturday.
"I've taken a few penalty shots in my career," reflected the 24-year-old, who hails from Ontario and includes Robert Norris University and Trenton Titans on his CV.
"The biggest thing is to keep cool on penalty shots.
"I practice a lot and have been fairly successful with them, so I just have to calm down and read the keeper. It's important not to second-guess yourself."
He has already netted 15 points, despite missing six games with a wrist injury sustained in an earlier clash with Dundee.
"It's sore, but it's the price you pay when you play," said Hervato.
"I need to find the fine line between pain and discomfort.
"It's discomfort at the moment, I'm not feeling extreme pain like before.
"Hopefully it will heal and I can stay in the line-up."
Omar Pacha: Sticking to game plan is crucialTHE stats don't lie – we haven't beaten Dundee on our home ice this season – and they haven't defeated us on theirs either!
Both games we have played at Hull Arena we have found a way to lose and up there we found a way to win.
It's important we play our best hockey tonight by sticking to our systems.
The last time Stars visited us they scored two or three goals from the face-offs, so we have to be tough on them too.
There has been talk of Dundee making team changes, but I don't know if they will.
I don't look at the other teams too much, although I know a bit about their systems and how they play.
I don't think they'll change their team from defence to all out attack in one week, so we will see what they bring.
Last weekend, which brought a penalty-shot win over Coventry in Hull and a defeat at their place, was one of mixed emotions.
We wanted to go into Coventry and get something, but we can take a positive in that our hands and execution weren't there but we managed to stay in the game.
On Sunday I thought we should have won in regulation time.
There were a couple of unlucky bounces for their first and third goals, their last came off my skate, but I was pleased to see how we did on our first shoot-out.
David Brown stopped all three shots and Zach Hervato scored a big shoot-out winner.
Browny also stopped two break-aways as well. It's good to see him make good saves like that.
Cathy Wigham: To rush or not to rush?THERE'S a "no rush" sign firmly pinned to Omar Pacha's door.
Though Hull Stingrays have yet to ice a full-strength team this season, the man at the helm is taking his time to find his 12th and final import.
He's not mentioned the word "budget", although that will come into it, as it does with any team in any league anywhere.
His prime concern, he insists, is to find the right peg for the right hole.
Interestingly, he hasn't quite decided what peg for what hole – defence or forward.
A month ago there was a hurry, as Stingrays were losing players quicker than they could sign them or get them healthy.
Now, he has 11 fit and available, with one to sign, and there's no sense of crisis.
That could, of course, change tonight when meeting a Dundee Stars side who will provide a meaty challenge.
Their coach Jeff Hutchins is surely under pressure, having presided over just three wins in 17 games.
Stars' exploits last season, when they won the Gardiner Conference, will probably have bought him some time this campaign – unlike Marc LeFebvre in Coventry.
The 4-3 win over Stingrays last Saturday and the penalty-shot loss to Pacha's men 24 hours later was enough to see his reign at Blaze ended abruptly.
Two of his players – Steven Goertzen and Mike Egener – have been installed as temporary coaches.
"OK isn't OK any more," trilled Blaze director James Pease.
The fluffy PR machine at the Skydome is obviously still working well, even if the team on the ice has hardly pulled up any trees.
Will the axe now fall on Coventry's under-achievers like Jereme Tendler?
Has the blame been pinned firmly on LeFebvre and not his players?
Or is it a case of Blaze looking for a new broom, who will sweep the place clean?
While Stars and Blaze fans chunter, Stingrays' supporters appear calm.
Should they be so pleased, given Stingrays are only eighth in the table and just two points ahead of ninth-placed Edinburgh?
Is there more rush for that new player than Pacha appears to think?
