Ice hockey star Lubomir Vaskovic claimed he was disappointed in his debut performance at Hull Stingrays and worried that Dundee Stars would send him home.
Fast forward 24 hours and the 27-year-old Slovakian was smiles better when he bagged a brace in Stars’ 4-1 home victory over Nottingham Panthers, last season’s Grand Slam champions.
Now the talented Eastern European is looking for more goals when high-flying Sheffield Steelers call in at Dundee Ice Arena tonight (7.30).
It’s a crucial game which sees second-placed Sheffield and Dundee, who are third, both seeking to extend recent fine form.
The men from the House of Steel tamed Cardiff Devils 6-2 on Sunday to move onto 56 points from 45 games, a record which includes 23 wins in regulation. Stars have 53 points from the same number of games and have 22 wins to their credit.
Vaskovic has had time for a crash course in the Elite League thanks to flatmate Bari McKenzie, with Bari’s girlfriend Nadia acting as interpreter.
The Slovakian sniper feels much more acclimatised to his surroundings after a whirlwind first few days on Tayside.
Speaking through Nadia, he said: “Without Nadia I would have been lost, but I’ve had time to walk around the city and to get to know the guys which is good.
“Bari and Nadia have been great and so have the guys. We won two games at the weekend which was good.”
He admitted: “I was nervous. I didn’t think I played well on Saturday. I was worried that Jeff (Hutchins, Dundee’s player-coach) would send me home.
“I felt good after Sunday when I scored two goals. That took a lot of pressure off me and I was happier with my performance.”
Vaskovic is now more aware of the style of game played in this country, leaning more towards Canadian than Eastern European.
He added: “It is a lot faster and tougher than in Slovakia. It is a challenge but I’m enjoying it.”
* Fife teenager Beth Scoon has been called up to the Great Britain women’s squad for the World Championship (Division 2A) in Italy. Scoon, 18, whose brother Josh plays for Fife Flyers, ices for Fife Falcons and is the only Scot in the GB squad.