TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 8 GLASGOW CLAN 5
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars banished their demons against Glasgow Clan to end a five-game winless run against their Scottish rivals and also snapped their eight-match losing streak with an emphatic 8-5 victory at the DIA.
By Kris Smith
Both teams came out from the start playing with pace and physicality but neither side got the better of the other during the opening minutes, although Jake Elmer almost put Dundee in front with the exact same goal he scored against Clan on Saturday night.
The Canadian winger tried to fire over Lucas Brine’s left shoulder but would see his effort denied by the frame of the Glasgow goal and at the other end, Richard Sabol would be kept busy as he made 14 saves to keep the Braehead club out.
The only goal of the first period came in the 15th minute and went the way of the Stars as a Dundee defenseman, Xavier Pouliot skated onto a loose puck and buried it into the back of the Clan goal via the underside of the crossbar.
In the second session, the Taysiders were quick to double their lead and capitalise on their first powerplay chance of the night as Brendan Harms tipped home Zach Tsekos’ shot inside 25 minutes, with Liam Finlay in the penalty box for a slashing foul.
However, the visitors would hit back swiftly and just 11 seconds later it was a 2-1 game as Deven Sideroff tucked the puck past Sabol and six minutes later, the Clan would draw level as Simon Despres tapped home a loose puck at the back door of the Dundee goal after a spell of chaos in the goal mouth.
Marc LeFebvre’s men would then regain the lead in the 32nd minute as defender, Ben O’Connor caught an attempted clearance from the Glasgow end and played the puck into the slot for Brett Gravelle to smack home past Brine.
Then just a few moments later, Corey Neilson’s team were plunged into penalty trouble and found themselves two players down and with the 5-on-3 advantage, the Stars again cashed in on the powerplay with Elmer finishing off Spencer Naas’ squared pass across goal on 34 minutes.
With one player back on the ice, the Clan still had some penalty killing to do but Tyson McLellan found himself in behind on a breakaway and shot high into the back of the Dundee net to make it 4-3 with a shorthanded goal in the 36th minute.
After a six-goal middle period, the third stanza would see no change in the volume of scoring as just 27 seconds after the restart, Kameron Kielly shot post-and-in to make it 5-3 before Harms would add a third powerplay goal of the night, also his second of the game as he lifted the puck past Brine in the 52nd minute.
Finlay pulled another goal back for Glasgow on 55 minutes as the Braehead club emptied their net for the extra attacker when they went on the powerplay late in the game and the six-on-four advantage proved fruitful, although two minutes later, Domenic Alberga set up Elmer to hit an empty net as they gambled with the goaltender again.
With Dundee 7-4 ahead and only two minutes left on the clock, the Clan found a fifth goal to keep the competitive spirit alive as Reece Kelly added his name to the scoresheet but with eight seconds left, Alberga passed up the chance to score and allowed Harms to complete his hat-trick.
The Stars first win in December could not have come at a better time as they now have a few days off before their back-to-back Tayside Derbies against Fife Flyers, starting off in Kirkcaldy on Boxing Day.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #81 Brendan Harms
Glasgow: #95 Deven Sideroff
Goals
1st:
1-0 Xavier Pouliot (Kameron Kielly, Spencer Naas) 14:15
2nd:
2-0 Brendan Harms (Zach Tsekos, Jake Elmer) 24:31 PPG
2-1 Devon Sideroff (Rylan Schwartz) 24:42
2-2 Simon Despres (Rylan Schwartz, Devon Sideroff) 29:23
3-2 Brett Gravelle (Ben O’Connor) 31:46
4-2 Jake Elmer (Brendan Harms, Drydn Dow) 34:36 PPG
4-3 Tyson McLellan (Unassisted) 35:37 SHG
3rd:
5-3 Kameron Kielly (Spencer Naas, Brendan Harms) 40:27
6-3 Brendan Harms (Jake Elmer, Spencer Naas) 51:08 PPG
6-4 Liam Finlay (Matt Berry) 55:08 PPG
7-4 Jake Elmer (Domenic Alberga) 57:51 ENG
7-5 Reece Kelly (Alex Forbes) 58:13
8-5 Brendan Harms (Domenic Alberga, Spencer Naas) 59:52 ENG
All images: Derek Black.
