TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 4 COVENTRY BLAZE 3 OT
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars let a 2-0 lead slip but battled back to come from behind and win their third straight match as they claimed the extra point in overtime on Halloween night at the DIA against Coventry Blaze.
By Kris Smith
The Stars had Canadian forward, Philippe Sanche in the line-up on Saturday night as he made his second debut for the club after re-joining the team last month and injured pair, Xavier Pouliot and Brogan O’Brien remained out of action.
It would be the visitors who were on top early as Coventry almost scored the first goal after just one minute of play but Dundee netminder, Richard Sabol slid from post-to-post to keep Kim Tallberg’s shot from point blank range out of the net.
A quick video review confirmed the game would remain scoreless but the Stars would quickly try to change that as Sanche and Domenic Alberga would both have opportunities from close range but on each occasion the puck slipped wide of goal.
The first goal of the night looked certain to come when Jake Elmer got in behind the Coventry defence but Mat Robson’s leg pad would keep his backhanded effort out and at the other end of the ice, Sabol would only have seven saves to make but most were highlight reel worthy as he dove across the goal and used his shoulder to deny the English side’s counter-attacks.
Inside the final minute of the opening period, the long-awaited first goal came as Keanu Yamamoto would break the deadlock with a cheeky effort from a tight angle that would bounce into the back of the Blaze goal after hitting Robson’s skate as he pushed off the post.
Marc LeFebvre’s men came out for the second period and would go straight onto the powerplay as Coventry’s Morten Jurgens was punished for interfering with Dundonian, Jonathan McBean but the home team would fail to cash in on the powerplay and so would their opposition.
The Stars would then fail to convert on a second powerplay but still managed to double their lead on 35 minutes as Elmer would see his first attempt saved before firing the rebound back towards goal from behind the net and it would bounce off of Robson’s stick and into the back of the net.
Dundee held their 2-0 lead until the second break but the Blaze would come out swinging in the third period and Alessio Luciani would cut the lead to one just 97 seconds after the restart, with a rising finish into the top right corner of Sabol’s goal.
Archie Hazeldine then drew the West Midlands outfit level in the 45th minute as his long-range effort beat the Stars keeper up high and just four-minutes later, Nick Seitz had Kevin Moore’s men ahead when he slid home the puck from the edge of the crease.
After a strong first 40 minutes, all of Dundee’s hard-work had disappeared in only 10 minutes and they had to fight their way back into the game but failed to pounce on their two-man advantage late in the match.
However, the game-tying-goal would eventually come as Sanche reopened his account for the Stars with an easy tap-in finish after Alex Tonge’s pass in front of goal took the Blaze defence and goalie out of the way, with less than four minutes left on the clock.
A delay of game penalty against Dundee’s Cole MacDonald nearly cost them the game in the final minute of regulation but the Stars would survive to secure one point as the contest entered overtime.
In overtime, both teams would each take another minor penalty and as the Blaze returned to full strength and held a four-on-three advantage, Stars captain Drydn Dow lobbed the puck out of his own end for Zach Tsekos to skate onto.
The Canadian latched onto puck and quickly deked past Robson before tucking his shot into the net on 63 minutes, clinching the extra point for Dundee to take them within three points of Blaze, who currently sit second and four spots ahead of the Stars.
Next up for the Taysiders is a trip across the Irish Sea on Sunday as they return to Challenge Cup play for their penultimate game of the group stage and look to better their last result against the Giants in Belfast, after losing out in overtime.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #17 Zach Tsekos
Coventry: #21 Archie Hazeldine
Goals
1st:
1-0 Keanu Yamamoto (Kris Inglis, Ben O’Connor) 19:39
2nd:
2-0 Jake Elmer (Brendan Harms, Craig Moore) 35:04
3rd:
2-1 Alessio Luciani (Archie Hazeldine) 41:37
2-2 Archie Hazeldine (Alexander Kuqali, Kam Tallberg) 44:11
2-3 Nick Seitz (Grayson Constable) 49:30
3-3 Philippe Sanche (Alex Tonge, Ben O’Connor) 56:47
OT:
4-3 Zach Tsekos (Drydn Dow, Kyle Pouncy) 63:01 SHG
All images: Derek Black.
