By Kris Smith
Ben Sokay would be the only Stars missing from the line-up as an upper body injury has ruled him out for a second match in a row, but it would be a bruising opening 20 minutes for Dundee as four players ended up wounded.
In the opening minutes, one Star was cut open leaving a pool of blood on the ice, before Hugo Reinhardt took a high-stick to the face drawing more blood onto the ice and the Swede had to leave the game for repairs.
Defenseman, Kris Inglis would then be struck in the neck by a deflected puck, leaving him in some pain before his fellow Dundonian, Craig Garrigan took a hard shot to the back of his calf.
Despite all the cuts and bruises, the Stars were the most dominant with possession as they broke up the Blaze’s transition well and allowed them a handful of clear-cut chances that goaltender, Anton Svensson gobbled up.
Jeff Mason’s men were working the Blaze well and came closest to breaking the deadlock when a 17th minute penalty against J.D. Dudek put them on the powerplay and Inglis almost snuck his shot between the arm and body of Paavo Holsa.
However, the home side’s control finally paid off as Elijiah Barriga opened the scoring and he did so with a flashy move that saw him put his stick between his legs and flick the puck past the Blaze goalie, shortly after the two-minute penalty had expired.
The Stars went into the first break still holding onto their 1-0 lead and in the second session, they quickly found a way to double it and this time they would convert on the powerplay.
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All images: Derek Black.
