TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 1 SHEFFIELD STEELERS 5
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars battled hard and came close to equalising multiple times but were ultimatley beaten as the current Elite League leaders capitalised on their scoring chances to take a 5-1 win in Dundee, on Sunday evening.
By Kris Smith
The Stars made one change to their line-up from their last outing as Lucas Brine came in to start between the pipes for goalie, Kevin Carr as he and forward, Tommy Parrottino missed out.
In the opening minutes of the first period, Sheffield pressed hard for the first goal and Brine was doing well to beat away the many efforts, but in the fifth minute, the 21-year-old was unable to stop Mitchell Balmas lifting home Daniel Ciampini’s pass from behind the net.
Dundee responded well however and would create numerous chances to level the score but failed to get the final touch on the puck that would take it past Matt Greenfield in the Steelers net.
The visitors 1-0 lead remained intact at the end of the first thanks to their clearing of their lines and solid back-stopping by Brine at the other end.
In the second session, the Stars continued to edge closer to an equaliser and gained a huge momentum after defenseman, Xavier Pouliot dropped the glvoes with Sheffield’s Kevin Tansey for a heavyweight bout in response to a huge hit by Pouliot on Patrick Watling.
After countless heavy blows from each fighter, the two tangled up and gave each other a show of respect for a good fight but all the momentum the home side had generated then quickly disapated as Mikko Juusola extended the Steelers lead with a shot through Brine’s five-hole, on 25 minutes.
Although, the Stars again produced another strong comeback and this time capitalised on their chance as Craig Garrigan backhanded a shot past Greenfield, in the 31st minute.
Then, just as Marc LeFebvre’s men were making more inroads for another attempt at an equaliser, their efforts were dereailed as referee Toby Craig awarded Sheffield a penalty shot after Balmas was apparently fouled on his way to net.
Balmas then converted for his second of night as he deked from left to right and tucked the puck past Brine at the very last second, making it a 3-1 advantage for Sheffield.
Despite another setback, the Taysiders would not give up but were dealt another blow as Cole Shudra tapped home a rebound from Zach Vinnell’s saved effort to extend the lead to 4-1 in the 39th minute.
In the third period, Dundee did not stop pushing but could not find another way past Greenfield and Josh Nicholls then added the Steelers fifth on 45 minutes to seal the victory for Aaron Fox’s men.
The Stars now have a full six days off before their next game after playing three games in five days, with a visit from Coventry Blaze up next.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #44 Lucas Brine
Sheffield: #92 Mitchell Balmas
Goals
1st:
0-1 Mitchell Balmas (Daniel Ciampini) 04:39
2nd:
0-2 Mikko Juusola (Patrick Watling) 25:39
1-2 Criag Garrigan (Jonathan McBean, James Phelan) 30:15
1-3 Mitchell Balmas (Unassisted) 33:25 PS
1-4 Cole Shudra (Zach Vinnell, Brandon Whistle) 38:36
3rd:
1-5 Josh Nicholls (Mikko Juusola, Patrick Watling) 45:49
All images: Derek Black.
