Ice Hockey: Stars to shine in Dundee again after successful bid

DUNDEE Stars last night became the tenth team in Britain's top ice hockey league when their application to join the Elite League was given the green light.

Directors Charlie and Stephen Ward received a unanimous seal of approval after an hour-long presentation to 19 other board members in Nottingham.

The decision follows months of behind-the-scenes talks involving the brothers who were determined to restore top- flight ice hockey to the City of Discovery.

Scotland now has three teams, Dundee Stars, Edinburgh Capitals, who have been in the league since it started, and Braehead Clan who were accepted recently.

Charlie Ward said: "It's five years since Tayside has had a team in the top British league and we plan to ice 11 imported players.

"We'll now get down to the business of appointing a coach and players and we'll be ready by the time the season starts in September.

"We had encouraging initial talks and the vibes were positive so we pressed on with the application and got the decision we wanted.

"This is an opportunity we had to take as we have always wanted to bring top ice hockey back to Dundee, which has a long history of the sport.

"A ten-team league with three Scottish teams makes a viable proposition.

"We'll work hard at building a rivalry between the three teams and I'm sure the profile of the sport north of the Border will benefit."