Bhubaneswar, Jan. 21: Hockey fever has gripped the city with Kalinga Stadium all set to host the inaugural match between home team Kalinga Lancers and Ranchi Rays tomorrow.

This will be first major hockey event to be hosted by the city after successfully hosting the Champions Trophy in December last year.

Both the teams are hopeful of registering their first win from the onset of the tournament. While the Kalinga Lancers had finished last in the point's table last year, Ranchi Rays had finished fourth. Last year six franchises had taken part in the second edition of the Hockey India League.

Kalinga Lancers are looking forward to bank on the huge support of fans as both the matches won by the home team last year were played in Bhubaneswar. 'Encouragement by fans always plays a key role in the performance of the team and the kind of support the game got during the Champions Trophy was beyond imagination. So, we are hopeful that the stadium will remain jam-packed,' said an official of the Kalinga Lancers.

While the home team has Roshan Minz as the lone player from the state, Ranchi Rays have three Odia players in their team. A Ranchi official said the three players from the state - Birendra Lakra, Anand Lakra and Amit Rohidas - would play a key role in tomorrow's match.

'We have a strong team with a number of experienced international players. We are here to win the league, Of course, no one can win all the games, but our aim is to win as many matches as possible to enter into the semi-finals. It is a tough league and all the teams are very strong,' said Ashley Jackson.

A franchise official said the sale of tickets for the inaugural match had been satisfactory so far. 'We are expecting the sale of tickets to gain momentum during mid stage of the tournament,' he said.

On the other hand, the home team is confident in putting up an impressive performance under the guidance of new coach Jude Felix Sebastian. 'We are excited about the third season. Three new players have joined the team, and we surely look good. Last season, our team was new but during the last stages every player came together,' said Jude.

Jude has replaced former Australian Terry Walsh as the coach of the home team.