By Kris Smith
The Stars picked up their first win and points in the league campaign on Saturday night as they claimed a 5-4 shootout victory over Guildford Flames after a shootout.
Dundee would find themselves 2-0 down inside 15 minutes as Charlie Dodero and Mike Crocock put the home team ahead but Stars captain, Drydn Dow would play Kameron Kielly in behind with a long stretch pass and he finished past Eamon McAdam to cut the lead to 2-1 before the first intermission.
In the second period, Flames debutant Charlie Curti netted his first goal for his new club and restored their two-goal cushion but the game would then be paused for a short while as Guildford’s Jake Coughler required medical attention following a collision with the boards and he had to be stretchered off the ice.
When the game resumed, Paul Dixon’s side would extend their advantage to 4-1 through Matt Alvaro in the 31st minute, which prompted a goalie change from the visitors as Richard Sabol was swapped out for Jarrett Fiske in Stars goal and shortly after, Domenic Alberga would pull another goal back for Dundee with a wrist shot that beat McAdam on 35 minutes.
With the Taysiders down by two goals in the third period, Zach Tsekos would then make it a one-goal game inside 46 minutes as he slung home Kyle Pouncy’s pass into a wide-open net from the back post and as the game reached its final moments, Guildford’s Marcus Tesink was punished for a tripping foul which put Dundee on the powerplay in the final three minutes.
With Marc LeFevre’s men a man up, Alex Tonge would then tie the score with a backhanded effort as he cut across the face of the Flames goal and the remaining 90 seconds would provide no regulation winner but neither would overtime.
After surviving a few close calls in overtime, the Stars then shot first in the shootout and Jake Elmer’s backhanded shot gave them a lead after first round following Fiske’s save on Lewis Hook.
Both Ben O’Connor and Guildford’s Daniel Tedesco were denied in the second round before Keanu Yamamoto dispatched the puck between the legs of McAdam and Fiske saved Jack Jacome’s effort.
Domenic Alberga then buried Dundee’s fourth attempt to win the game for them 3-0 in the shootout and 5-4 on the night, completing an impressive comeback from 4-1 down at the halfway point.
Meanwhile the Devils have both a win and loss on their record this weekend following Friday night’s 5-2 home win over Fife Flyers, where Zach O’Brien, Ben Davies (2) and Cole Sanford (2) all found the back of the net.
Then on Saturday night, they were beaten 3-2 in Nottingham by the Panthers as they were 3-0 down before Brett Perlini and Sanford set up a tense finish with only one-goal between the two teams for the last eight minutes.
Speaking after last night’s win in Guildford, Stars Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre said: “It was a rollercoaster of a game, going down 4-1 it is never easy to comeback from that, especially in a building like this.
“We made some changes, changed the goalie and mixed up the lines a bit and I am really proud of the guys for coming back, we needed that and it sets us up for a good weekend.”
“It is massive, we always appreciate their support up and down the country every weekend, they did keep encouraging the guys, even when we were down a couple of goal.
“I am really proud of our guys, we need some morale in here and some positivity and a comeback victory like that can set us up for the rest of the season.
Face-off for tonight’s away game in Cardiff is at 6pm.
All images: John Uwins.
