TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 5 GLASGOW CLAN 2
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars got their first win of the season under their belt as they claimed a 5-2 win over Scottish rivals, Glasgow Clan in the Challenge Cup on Sunday night.
By Kris Smith
The first period was a very tightly contested battle as both teams pressed hard to find an early advantage but in the opening minutes both Richard Sabol, who was making his debut between the pipes for Dundee and Lucas Brine, who was playing his first game against his former employers, had kept out every shot that came their way.
The scoring would finally start in the eighth minute as the Stars turned some offensive zone pressure into a lead and Brogan O’Brien’s slapshot would be stopped by Brine but he spilt the rebound and Dundee captain, Drydn Dow was waiting to bury it at the back post.
Each team would also have one powerplay chance in the first period but neither could capitalise on the man advantage, so the Stars kept their 1-0 lead heading into the second and the middle stanza would be more action packed.
Dundee’s Zach Tsekos would double their lead on 23 minutes as he tapped home the rebound from Craig Garrigan’s low shot that bounced off the pads of Brine and he found the back of the Clan net again two minutes later, with a high wrist shot from the slot.
The Stars were cruising at 3-0 but they hit some penalty trouble and that brought the Clan back into the game after Marc LeFebvre’s men took four penalties in under four minutes, which reduced them to three skaters for a prolonged period.
Darien Kielb got the Clan off the mark on 28 minutes as he turned Michael Pelech’s pass up past Sabol just before they gained their two-man advantage and on the 32-minute mark, Liam Finley blasted home a slapshot to reduce the lead to one.
In the third period, the game fell back into a scrappy battle as both sides needed the next goal to turn the match in their favour and Glasgow were starting to dominate by keeping the home team pinned in their end but failed to find another way past Sabol.
However, Jake Elmer relieved the pressure on Marc LeFebvre’s men as he skated onto the end a lobbed pass from Domenic Alberga and rushed in on the Glasgow goal before burying his shot to the right of Brine, inside 55 minutes.
Corey Neilson’s men then gained a powerplay shortly after the goal and pulled their netminder with just over three minutes to play but the Stars would eventually capitalise on the gamble as Alberga skated the puck into the net with three seconds left on the clock.
The Stars got their first win of the season under their belt and a crucial Scottish rivalry victory that sets them up for next week’s Challenge Cup contests away to Belfast Giants and at home against Fife Flyers.
Dundee scratches: #1 Jaglar (Two-Way), #10 Kielly (Travel) & #45 Kelly (injury).
Glasgow scratches: #28 Pare, #39 McGowan,#40 Salisbury, #57 Forbes & #88 Carruth.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #17 Zach Tsekos
Glasgow: #71 Rylan Schwartz
Goals
1st:
1-0 Drydn Dow (Brogan O’Brien, Kyle Pouncy) 07:30
2nd:
2-0 Zach Tsekos (Craig Garrigan, Craig Moore) 23:47
3-0 Zach Tsekos (Alex Tonge, Cole MacDonald) 25:25
3-1 Darien Kielb (Michael Pelech) 28:04
3-2 Liam Finlay (Tyson McLellan, Darien Kielb) 31:00 PPG
3rd:
4-2 Jake Elmer (Domenic Alberga, Kris Inglis) 54:05
5-2 Domenic Alberga (Cole MacDonald) 59:57 ENG
All images: Derek Black.
