American forward Dominic Osman is determined to make his second taste of the Elite League play-offs finals weekend much better than his first experience.
The 33-year-old was part of the Stingrays side which progressed to the semi-finals in 2011/12 before losing to eventual winners Nottingham Panthers 10-3. 
Stingrays produced a shock to knock out Sheffield Steelers in the quarter-final that year and repeated the feat as they eliminated Braehead Clan last Sunday.
They now meet Steelers, the league champions and defending play-off holders, in the first semi-final at the National Ice Centre on Saturday (1pm face-off).
Osman said: “I have experienced the finals weekend before, it is great to be involved in and the atmosphere is unbelievable.
“Last time we had no ice all week and then had a skate in Sheffield at 11pm on the Thursday night and again first thing on Friday morning. The preparation will be a lot better. The guys were back on the ice on Tuesday morning and we are all on a high right now.
“We have been through a lot of adversity this year. But the guys have been so resilient and deserve the credit. We have stuck together as a team and nothing has come between us.
“Sheffield are a very good team but they are capable of being beaten. If we stay within the system set for us then there is no reason why we cannot beat them.
“What an opportunity we have. We can knock off the Elite League champions by winning a hockey game. We need to embrace that challenge and go out there and do everything we possibly can and leave it all on the ice.
“We don’t want to feel like we have made the final four and that’s good enough. We want to go there and win it.”
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