TWO Hawks stars will play through the pain barrier tomorrow night as the local ice hockey stars stage a showdown with the flyaway Fliers from Fife!

New cult hero Neil Abel and skipper Paul Fleury will turn out despite a bad back and a broken finger respectively and the two heroes earned a pre-match tribute from manager Mike Cockayne.

"Neil has a sore back and Paul's finger is broken in three places, but both have said they want to play and that shows the attitude in the camp right now.

"There is a real togetherness and desire to win and we all know, even at this early stage, that this is a big big game for us."

And the message booming out of the Hawks camp is: "We owe you one!"

Hawks were smashed 7-0 on the opening night of the season at Fife who have gone on to top the Northern Premier League - currently standing six points ahead of Hawks who have a match in hand. Fliers have outstanding Canadian player-coach Mark Morrison at the helm and their ranks include the league's number one point scorer this season, ex-Trafford ace Frank Morris.

"Fife have managed to hold on to several of their players from the Premier League last season and they also have an excellent netminder in Mark McKay who played for Sheffield Steelers last season.

"We don't need anyone telling us this will be a tough night, we know it. But the players are confident that they can pull off what many may consider a surprise victory."

Hawks have lacked consistency in the opening weeks: "We have looked very good at times, but also been awful. Whatever sport you play the top teams are the ones who do it week in and week out.

"We have yet to find that consistency, but at least we have stuck at it and got ourselves into a challenging position."

Hawks anticipate a large following from Scotland and expect an electric atmosphere for a match that faces off at 6pm at the Arena.

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