GLASGOW CLAN 5 TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 2
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars faced an uphill battle in Braehead on Saturday night as they were plagued with penalties and missed chances throughout the evening and that resulted in a second straight defeat to their Scottish rivals, Glasgow Clan.
By Kris Smith
The first goal of the night would come after only seven minutes of play and by that time the Stars had already taken two minor penalties and missed one chance on the breakaway as Jake Elmer went in one-on-one with the Glasgow goalie after being released from the penalty box.
With Elmer’s attempt hitting the crossbar, the Clan then capitalised at the other end in the final seconds of their send powerplay, with Liam Finlay’s shot being turned into the back of the net via a deflection off of Glasgow forward, Mitchell Heard.
Dundee would have their first go on the powerplay shortly after but would be unable to find an equaliser and went into the first break trailing 1-0.
In the second session, the home team doubled their lead to 2-0 inside 26 minutes as Felix Pare latched onto the rebound from Finlay’s shot and Pare slotted it past Dundee netminder, Richard Sabol after the Slovakian had turned away the first effort.
Three minutes later, Rylan Schwartz made it 3-0 to the Clan as his low shot from the top of the left circle made its way straight into the back of the Stars net and the Taysiders would continue to trail to the penalty box, taking a total of 10 minutes worth of minor penalties in the middle period.
After surviving one 5-on-3 powerplay, Dundee ended up straight back down to three skaters again as defenseman Cole MacDonald was boxed for hooking and then seven seconds after being set free, he returned to the sin bin for a slashing foul.
Glasgow’s Keaton Jameson then extended the lead to 4-0 on 37 minutes by cashing in on their two-man advantage with a perfectly placed backhanded effort into the top left corner of Sabol’s net.
Dundee needed a response and defenseman, Xavier Pouliot tried to help turn things around for his side by stepping up to make Clan forward, Nick Prkusic answer for a bad hit on Kameron Kielly as the Glasgow forward boarded the Canadian.
Pouliot grabbed Prkusic and threw a few punches that did not land before his opponents was on the ice, this being the second time in the last two games that the pair had come to blows, but Pouliot’s instigation of the fight would see him ejected from the game, receiving a total of 27 minutes for being the aggressor, whilst Prkusic served two minutes for boarding.
In the third period, the Stars finally got off the mark as Kielly created a goal from nothing by blocking a shot and chasing down the loose puck before burying it straight throw Landon Bow in the Clan goal, on 45 minutes.
It was then Dundee’s turn to utilise their powerplay as in the 48th minute, Elmer circled on the right side and as he lined up with the target, he saw his opportunity and slung the puck straight into the nearside top corner, cutting the lead to two goals.
With just over 10 minutes left to play, Corey Neilson’s men were now having to work hard to protect their 4-2 lead and did just enough to keep chewing the clock down as Dundee pushed forward.
Marc LeFebvre gambled to get an extra attacker by taking Sabol out of the net but Tyson McLellan would fire into the open cage on 58 minutes to seal the victory for Glasgow.
The Stars losing skid could not be halted and the games do not get any easier but they have a chance to make a statement by beating the reigning Elite League and treble winning champions from last season, Sheffield Steelers as they come to Dundee on Sunday.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #98 Jake Elmer
Glasgow: #10 Liam Finlay
Goals
1st:
1-0 Mitchell Heard (Liam Finlay, Steven Seigo) 07:28 PPG
2nd:
2-0 Felix Pare (Liam Finlay, Joseph Hazeldine) 25:11
3-0 Rylan Schwartz (Tyson McLellan, Simon Despres) 28:01
4-0 Keaton Jameson (Liam Finlay, Matt Stief) 37:39 PPG
3rd:
4-1 Kameron Kielly (Unassisted) 45:38
4-2 Jake Elmer (Drydn Dow, Domenic Alberga) 47:33 PPG
5-2 Tyson McLellan (Rylan Schwartz) 58:04 ENG
All images: Al Goold.
