BELFAST GIANTS 6 TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 5 OT
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars banked a point in Belfast on Saturday night but had the second point stolen away in the final minute of overtime as they battled back and forth with the Giants on Saturday night.
By Kris Smith
The home team would take the lead just 86 seconds into the game as Jordan Kawaguchi was placed behind the goal line and picked out the arriving Joe Cassetti and he lifted the puck past Dundee goalie, Richard Sabol from point blank range.
Belfast then had a man advantage after two minutes of play as Stars forward, Brogan O’Brien was called for tripping but the Tayside team saw out his two-minute penalty before finding an equaliser as Ben O’Connor got the puck forward to Jake Elmer and he rushed in behind before picking his spot past netminder, Tom McCollum on five minutes.
Then just 31 seconds later, Dundee took the lead as they rushed forward again and this time Alex Tonge’s effort would bounce off the pads of McCollum and into the path of Brendan Harms for an easy tap-in.
Marc LeFebvre’s men did not let up there and five minutes later added a third goal as newly arrived forward, Kameron Kielly marked his debut with a goal by releasing a rapid wrist shot into the top of the net from the slot.
After failing to capitalise on a brief five-on-three powerplay, the Stars carried their 3-1 lead into the second period, however the Giants would instantly cut into it as Scott Conway netted just 17 seconds after the restart.
The Giants forward slung the puck past Sabol from between the circles and that turned the heat up as it became a one-goal game again.
Dundee defended well and were still finding ways to break against Adam Keefe’s side, which eventually resulted in them rrestoring their two-goal cushion as defenseman, Cole MacDonald jumped forward on the attack and pounced on a loose puck, sending it straight into the near-side top corner of the Giants net.
Although, the home team would find their way back into the match as Kawaguchi’s back post finish and Robert Carpenter’s strike over the shoulder of Sabol brought the score back to 4-4 after 35 minutes.
In the third period, it took the Giants only five minutes to find their second lead of the night as J.J. Piccinich smacked home a loose puck in front of the Dundee goal and buried it straight into the back of the net.
After assisting the go-ahead-goal, Conway would then be sent to the sin bin in the 49th minute for a tripping foul and that allowed the Stars to tie the game up once again as Harms bagged his second of the night after Alex Tonge picked him out with time and space in front of net.
A winner would not be found before the end of regulation and overtime would be required but as the five minutes of extra time ticked down, it appeared as if the game was headed for penalty shots after neither side could capitalise on their chances.
However, as the Stars broke forward at one end with Elmer in possession and MacDonald appearing to be held back as he tried to get into a scoring position, the Giants turned around and went down the ice, where Kawaguchi backhanded the puck past Sabol to win it on 64 minutes.
The Stars had their chances to win the game as Alex Tonge saw his breakaway effort saved in overtime also but they take a point from their efforts and have won 50 per cent of the points available so far in Group B of the Challenge Cup.
Next up is a must win Tayside Derby at home against Fife Flyers, if the hopes of progressing to the knockout stages are to stay strong.
Dundee Scratches: #1 Jaglar (Two-Way), #45 Kelly (Injured) & #77 Saunders (Two-Way).
Belfast Scratches: #14 Hamill, #17 Mitchell-King, #20 Morin, #21 Beattie, #35 Dickson, #46 Howells, #86 Stewart, #88 Mismash & #90 Alderson.
Man of the Matcha
Dundee: #81 Brendan Harms
Belfast: #29 Jordan Kawaguchi
Goals
1st:
1-0 Joe Cassetti (Jordan Kawaguchi, Jeff Baum) 01:26
1-1 Jake Elmer (Ben O’Connor) 05:25
1-2 Brendan Harms (Alex Tonge, Drydn Dow) 05:561
1-3 Kameron Kielly (Keanu Yamamoto, Xavier Pouliot) 10:25
2nd:
2-3 Scott Conway (J.J. Piccinich, Gabe Bast) 20:17
2-4 Cole MacDonald (Keanu Yamamoto) 28:45
3-4 Jordan Kawaguchi (Kyle Osterberg) 32:04
4-4 Robert Carpenter (Scott Conway, Bo Hanson) 35:53
3rd:
5-4 J.J. Piccinich (Scott Conway) 45:25
5-5 Brendan Harms (Alex Tonge, Domenic Alberga) 48:16 PPG
OT
6-5 Jordan Kawaguchi (Mark Cooper) 64:00
All images: William Cherry/Presseye.
