MANCHESTER STORM 2 TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 5
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars claimed a huge statement win in England last night as they beat Manchester Storm 5-2 to strengthen their grip on a playoff place in the Elite League standings.
By Kris Smith
The Stars made one change to their starting line-up as goaltender Jarrett Fiske returned to the starting position between the pipes and he would be backed up by 18-year-old, Dominick Jaglar as Slovakian, keeper Richard Sabol was not in the match night squad.
Dundee made the better start as they pressed the Manchester defences early and almost cracked David Tendeck in the Storm goal but the momentum soon swung in the home team’s favour as Stars forward, Philippe Sanche was the first to be sent to the penalty box in the eighth minute, as he was punished for a hooking foul.
However, Mike Morin’s men were unable to make their man advantage count as their powerplay expired and the Stars went straight back onto the press but as the physicality levels began to ramp up, the Storm soon found themselves on the penalty kill after Craig Martin was boxed for slashing in the 15th minute.
It took only eight seconds of powerplay time for Dundee to break the deadlock as they worked the puck down the left-hand side, while Brendan Harms cleared some space in front of the Manchester goal.
Zach Tsekos then played a pass across goal to Harms and the Canadian turned the puck past Tendeck to end the stalemate and the Stars would remain a goal ahead going into the first break, despite being outshot 18-7 by the hosts.
In the second period, the Taysiders would have to kill off two more hooking penalties but between the two powerplays, they had managed to double their lead on the halfway mark as Philippe Sanche was played in behind the Manchester defence by Jonathan McBean.
Sanche then moved in on Tendeck before lifting the puck over the keeper’s blocker and into the top left corner on 30 minutes but Marc LeFebvre’s side would quickly see their two-goal cushion halved.
With Spencer Naas serving his minor penalty, the Storm’s powerplay unit cashed in after 33 minutes as Ryan Hughes tucked home a loose rebound in the Dundee goalmouth after Fiske had been unable to deny Cameron Critchlow’s attempt that struck the crossbar before dropping to his teammate.
Although, the visitors would dig deep to find a third goal and restore their two-goal advantage before the end of the middle period, with Kameron Kielly – who was fresh out of the sin bin after a five-minute fighting penalty for his short tilt with Manchester’s Tyler Hinam – adding his name to the scoresheet.
The Stars struck on a quick counter-attack as they caught their opponents on a long line change and ex-Storm player, Alex Robert would slip the puck into the offensive zone for Kielly, who then finished high past Tendeck in the 38th minute.
In the third period, Dundee continued their trail to the penalty box and would have to fend off two more Manchester powerplays but did so successfully, before they finally looked to have put the game to bed after 58 minutes, when Harms shot into an empty Storm net.
The home side had called a timeout and subbed off Tendeck for an extra attacker but were unable to stop Harms from finding the back of their net for a second time on the night, as he let rip from his own end of the ice.
Manchester would not give up at 4-1 however and 32 seconds later, Dallas Ehrhardt was left unmarked in the Dundee zone, which saw him swiftly make it 4-2 with still two minutes left to play.
Dundee held firm and continued to repel the Altrincham outfit and with the Storm net empty again, Naas made a late dash forward and beat the buzzer to add the Stars fifth goal and seal two crucial points in their push for the playoffs.
The Stars now sit seven points clear of the Storm, despite Manchester having two games in hand but this weekend’s matches will be no easier as the Taysiders hop on a ferry to face Belfast Giants on Saturday night, before hosting the Storm in what could be a decisive match in the race for a playoff spot.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #33 Jarrett Fiske
Manchester: #92 Ryan Hughes
Goals
1st:
0-1 Brendan Harms (Zach Tsekos, Spencer Naas) 14:42 PPG
2nd:
0-2 Philippe Sanche (Jonathan McBean, Keanu Yamamoto) 30:58
1-2 Ryan Hughes (Cameron Critchlow, Craig Martin) 33:14 PPG
1-3 Kameron Kielly (Alex Robert, Drydn Dow) 37:25
3rd:
1-4 Brendan Harms (Kyle Pouncy, Zach Tsekos) 57:12 ENG
2-4 Dallas Ehrhardt (Jake Durflinger, Loren Ulett) 57:44
2-5 Spencer Naas (Brendan Harms, Drydn Dow) 59:59 ENG
All images: Storm Images.
