GLASGOW CLAN 2 TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 1
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars played out a closely contested Scottish Derby against Glasgow Clan last night but fell 2-1 after the hosts scored late to claim the victory.
By Kris Smith
The Stars were still missing four imports from their line-up as Brogan O’Brien, Kameron Kielly and Xavier Pouliot remained sidelined but as Kyle Pouncy came back into the fold, Alex Tonge would drop out.
After a fast-paced start, both teams were struggling to differentiate each other due to clashing jerseys as the Clan’s Halloween themed Beetlejuice tops were blending in with Dundee’s white away jerseys, resulting in Glasgow being forced to change to their black warm-up kit.
When the game resumed, the Taysiders were starting on the powerplay as Darien Kielb was boxed for a hooking foul and just 44 seconds into the man advantage, Brett Gravelle fired past Lucas Brine to open the scoring.
Dundee then killed off a penalty against them and took their narrow lead into the first break after a fast and physical opening period.
In the second, there would be no scoring and not a lot of shots on target as both teams defended well and kept their opponents at arm’s length.
Brine had made some good stops on the shots he faced and Jarrett Fiske in the Dundee goal was ready whenever he was called into action.
With Marc LeFebvre’s men still leading by just one goal going into the third period, the home team made a strong push to get the atmosphere and momentum back on their side.
In the 42nd minute, Glasgow’s strong start to the stanza paid off as Tyson McLellan’s shot would bounce past Fiske after deflecting off the skate of Dundee blueliner, Ben O’Connor.
The game then became an even tighter and intense battle as both sides pursued the go-ahead goal and potential winner but just as the game looked set to require extra time, Glasgow would edge in front.
With less than three minutes left on the clock, Fiske made the first stop but was unable to see the second effort and Cole Ully’s shot would hit the back of the net.
Dundee made a late push and spurred on by a powerplay with 68 seconds remaining, they tried to breakdown the Clan defences once again but were unable to get another puck past Brine before time expired.
The final buzzer brought their Challenge Cup campaign to and end and now puts the Stars full focus on the rest of their regular season, with a Tayside Derby against Fife Flyers next on the schedule at home tomorrow.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #27 Brett Gravelle
Glasgow: #44 Lucas Brine
Goals
1st:
0-1 Brett Gravelle (Keanu Yamamoto, Philippe Sanche) 04:53 PPG
2nd:
3rd:
1-1 Tyson McLellan (Cole Ully, Chris McKay) 41:15
2-1 Cole Ully (Tyson McLellan, Chris McKay) 57:15
All images: Struan Davie.
