Martin Cingel spent 11 seasons playing for Edinburgh Capitals but tonight he returns to Murrayfield for the first time as a Dundee Stars player.
The 38-year-old will have mixed emotions but said: “I’m a Dundee Stars player now and I’m here to do a job for them.”
Cingel still stays within minutes of Capitals home rink and has set up his home with his family in Scotland’s capital.
He loves living in the city but Stars need Challenge Cup, Group A, points and Cingel means business.
The Slovakian left-wing said: “It’s a different dressing-room for me this time. It’s my first time back playing in Edinburgh for another team but I’ve been into the rink to watch Capitals play.
“It will be emotional for me after all the years I spent at the rink but Dundee are coming to take two points and I’m in the squad to help them do that.”
Currently, Edinburgh prop up the Group A table without a point from three games.
Dundee are fourth in the five-strong league with two points from one win in three games.
Belfast Giants top the table with eight points from five starts with Braehead Clan second on six points from three straight wins and Fife Flyers come next with two points from two games.
Cingel knows how Edinburgh play and so does Dundee’s player/coach Jeff Hutchins, another former Capitals player.
And the European-born hit-man, who is third in Dundee’s early-season statistics with two goals and one assist in six games, said: “Edinburgh have their own style. They try to suck you in and then break. It works.
“They have quality players like Rene (Jarolin) and he knows how to score goals.
“I went to see a game and Riley Emmerson played for a short time. He will be a strong player for Edinburgh.”
Capitals come into the clash boosted by a 3-2 penalty shot success over Cardiff Devils in the Elite League last Sunday in Edinburgh.
Dundee edged arch rivals Fife 2-1 in overtime in the Challenge Cup, Group A, on Tayside and Cingel said: “That was a good result for us and we had a great crowd in the building.
“The win was a big confidence boost for us and we are all looking forward to going to Edinburgh to see if we can get another win.”
Meanwhile, Fife Flyers face a Braehead Clan side minus banned defenceman Chris Frank who sits out for four games.
Clan are considering their options over the length of the ban on the 28-year-old American after an incident in last Saturday’s Elite League defeat at Cardiff Devils.
The Department of Player Safety say Frank, who was once drafted by National Hockey League cracks Phoenix Coyotes, made “an illegal check to the head”.
They also claimed there is no intent to play the puck and they confirmed that the other player involved, Doug Clarkson, was later removed from the game which Devils won 5-4 in overtime.
Danny Stewart, Fife’s associate player/coach, said: “It is obviously a big loss (for Clan) with Frank out as he is a big part of their team.
“It won’t change things for us. We’ll go into the game with the same goal to put up a good performance at home and to support the puck in all areas of our big ice surface.”
Home-bred defenceman Kyle Hore and Chris Wands plus American forward Matt Reber face late tests but Stewart added: “We have to maintain our work ethic over 60 minutes if we want to get a result.”