TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 4 CARDIFF DEVILS 6
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars put in a solid effort on home ice last night but came up short in the dying minutes as they fell 6-4 to Cardiff Devils in Elite League action.
By Kris Smith
The Stars were on home ice but also short benched as they were missing defenseman, Xavier Pouliot and Kyle Pouncy but also forwards, Kameron Kielly and Brogan O’Brien.
However, they did come out and try to take the game straight to the Devils but the Welsh side withstood the initial pressure before going down the ice to take the lead on five minutes as Ried Duke would deflect Gleason Fournier’s shot underneath Dundee goalie, Richard Sabol.
Although, the Taysiders would only be behind for 14 second as Jake Elmer received a pass in the left circle of the Devils end and placed the puck straight into the top right corner of Ben Bowns’ net to level the score once again.
The Stars would also have the first powerplay of the night inside the final minutes of the opening period and came close to taking the lead as Brendan Harms’ redirected effort stung the crossbar before Drydn Dow was denied the chance to score into an empty net after Evan Mosey’s stick blocked the Dundee captain’s effort on a loose rebound.
In the second period, Pete Russell’s side quickly regained their lead after returning to full strength as Cole Sanford tapped home Evan Mosey’s pass to the back post in the 22nd minute but again, Dundee responded.
Zach Tsekos would dish the puck off to Elmer at center ice and he deked his way through the entire Cardiff team before tucking the puck through the legs of Bowns to cap off an incredible solo move, inside 23 minutes.
Both teams would then go back and forth, battling for every bounce and rebound but it was once again, the visitors would take the lead as Zach O’Brien was perfectly placed to skate onto the rebound from Andrew MacWilliam’s shot which Sabol had kicked out to the right wing and straight into the path of O’Brien, who fired into the roof of the net in the 29th minute.
However, Elmer would tie the game up to complete his hat-trick just four minutes later as this time he got the better of the Devils keeper with a low shot that snuck between his legs and trickled across the line.
Just as the game looked set to remain tied heading to the third period, Kris Inglis’ clearance was blocked by the skates of referee Pavel Halas and that allowed Joey Martin to recover possession and from the following shot, Martin would whack home the rebound after 38 minutes.
In the final stanza, the Devils would again find the back of the net quickly after the restart as Kohen Olischefski turned home Cardiff’s fifth goal on 41 minutes and that gave the Welsh club the breathing room they so desperately needed.
After failing to score on their third man advantage, the Stars left it late but finally got one back after pulling Sabol from the net in exchange for an extra attacker and that then saw Philippe Sanche lift home a fourth goal for Dundee with only 100 seconds left in the match.
Marc LeFebvre’s men managed to get swiftly back on the attack and get Sabol back off for another forward but after calling a timeout at a stoppage in play, the Devils would win possession and Martin fired into the open net to seal the victory for Cardiff.
The Stars almost came away with a much-earned point from a valiant effort whilst down four import players but it was not be and they now have one day off before heading to Glasgow Clan on Friday night for their final Challenge Cup game.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #98 Jake Elmer
Cardiff: #86 Zach O’Brien
Goals
1st:
0-1 Reid Duke (Gleason Fournier, Tyler Busch) o5:20
1-1 Jake Elmer (Zach Tsekos, Cole MacDonald) 05:36
2nd:
1-2 Cole Sanford (Evan Mosey, Zach O’Brien) 21:10
2-2 Jake Elmer (Zach Tsekos, Brendan Harms) 22:58
2-3 Zach O’Brien (Andrew MacWilliam, Cole Sanford) 28:39
3-3 Jake Elmer (Drydn Dow, Kris Inglis) 32:19
3-4 Joey Martin (Evan Mosey) 38:21
3rd:
3-5 Kohen Olischefski (Zach O’Brien, Cole Sanford) 41:52
4-5 Philippe Sanche (Alex Tonge, Domenic Alberga) 58:10 EA
4-6 Joey Martin (Unassisted) 59:04 ENG
All images: Derek Black.
