TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 4 MANCHESTER STORM 3 SO
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars won a crucial battle on home ice as they defeated Manchester Storm 4-3 after a penalty shootout to push the English side eight points behind them and also made it three wins from three games this week.
By Kris Smith
The Stars faced a quick turnaround from Saturday night’s win in Belfast and they got off to a flying start at home against Manchester, as they took the lead just 45 seconds into the game, when Brendan Harms skated around the Storm zone and picked out the top corner of the net from high on the right side.
Despite an energetic start from Dundee, the visitors had their season on the line and were not ready to let the game slip through their hands so easily and just 53 seconds later, they drew level when Jake Durflinger tipped Loren Ulett’s rising effort past Jarrett Fiske.
Both teams then settled in for a long and nervy night, where neither side wanted to make a mistake that could prove costly, but with so much on the line, the physicality levels were high throughout the match.
The Storm would then get a bit of relief as they took the lead late in the first period as Ryan Hughes was the fastest to react to a loose rebound in front of the Dundee net in the 16th minute and that left the Altrincham club ahead going into the second period.
The middle stanza would be just as tight as the first but the next goal finally came on 36 minutes as Jonathan McBean brought his boyhood club back onto level terms, after he caught a loose puck in front of the Manchester, spun around to face goal and fired a wrist shot into the roof of David Tendeck’s net.
Marc LeFebvre’s men then quickly struck again to flip the game on its head and regain the lead, as Drydn Dow’s effort from long range found the back of the net in the 39th minute.
After Dundee’s late push, Manchester had to come out swinging in the third period and Mike Morin’s side wasted no time in getting themselves an equaliser, as Alexis D’Aoust beat Fiske from the left side, just 38 seconds after the restart.
With the game tied at 3-3 and the clock winding down, the visitors needed to find something to get them back in a winning position but Fiske would become unbeatable in the Dundee net and repel all 18 shots he faced in the final 20 minutes.
Nothing separated either team after 60 minutes and overtime was required but the full five minutes of three-on-three hockey would be played without a stoppage as the action went from end-to-end and chances were exchanges.
With no one able to net the winner, a shootout was required and only one goal would be scored as Keanu Yamamoto slipped the puck between the legs of Tendeck and Fiske would deny all five of Manchester’s shooters to win the extra point for Dundee.
The Stars now sit eight points ahead of the Storm in the Elite League standings and with only seven games left in their season, they now head out on the road next weekend to face Cardiff Devils and Guildford Flames.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #13 Philippe Sanche
Manchester: #16 Jake Durflinger
Goals
1st:
1-0 Brendan Harms (Spencer Naas, Zach Tsekos) 00:45
1-1 Jake Durflinger (Loren Ulett, Gianluca Estevez,) 01:38
1-2 Ryan Hughes (Stephen Johnson, Dallas Ehrhardt) 15:51
2nd:
2-2 Jonathan McBean (Philippe Sanche, Keanu Yamamoto) 36:32
3-2 Drydn Dow (Jonathan McBean, Philippe Sanche) 38:58
3rd:
3-3 Alexis D’Aoust (Cameron Critchlow, Joe Morrow) 40:38
OT:
SO:
4-3 Keanu Yamamoto (Unassisted) 65:00 PS
All images: Derek Black.
