By Kris Smith
The Stars are currently tied with Manchester Storm on 47 points after the English club were beaten 5-4 in overtime by the Flyers last night.
Manchester had taken the lead in Kirkcaldy after Alexis D’Aoust fired them into the lead on 13 minutes but just two minutes later, Phelix Martineau drew the home side level, before Austin Farley’s powerplay goal then put the Flyers ahead with only one second remaining in the first period.
Then just 52 seconds into the second period, Michael Cichy extended the Flyers lead to 3-1 before Stephen Johnson replied just 14 seconds later to make it a 3-2 game.
A similar scenario then played out again in the 34th minute as Jordy Stallard restored Fife’s two-goal cushion with a shorthanded goal before Joe Morrow then cashed in on the powerplay just 26 seconds later.
Johnny Curran’s side took their 4-3 lead into the third period but the Storm would net a second powerplay goal as Ryan Hughes equalised for Mike Morin’s men inside 48 minutes.
No winner was found in regulation and the match went to three-on-three overtime, where in the 63rd minute, Charles-Antoine Paiement bagged the winner for Fife.
That now leaves Dundee requiring only one point to clinch the final playoff berth as they have to better Manchester’s points total due to the Storm having a better record of regulation wins and a stronger head-to-head record against the Stars this season.
The Stars have a winning record against the Flyers this season as they have won eight out of nine competitive meetings against Fife this season, winning all of the last seven Tayside Derbies and Dundee have outscored their biggest rivals 46-19 across the nine contests.
On Friday night in Glasgow, the Taysiders had fallen behind in the first period as Cade Neilson tipped the puck past Dundee goaltender, Jarrett Fiske but Marc LeFebvre’s men would respond just three minutes into the second session as Xavier Pouliot deflected the puck into the Clan net.
Then in the 27th minute, Spencer Naas fired low past Landow Bow to put the Stars 2-1 in front and they held their slender advantage until the second break.
However inside 44 minutes, Liam Finlay would equalise for the Braehead club as he lifted the puck into the top of the Dundee net form close range and nothing would then separate the two teams until extra time was required.
In the overtime period, the Stars had a few chances to net the winner but in the 63rd minute, Chris McKay’s shot was blocked by bodies in front and the puck dropped perfectly for Glasgow’s Rylan Schwartz to tap in the winner.
Speaking after Friday night’s overtime loss in Glasgow, Stars Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre said: “That was a hard-fought game by both teams tonight and we were unable to see it out at the end but that is a huge point for us in our playoff push.
“We just have to pick ourselves up and get ready for Sunday night against Fife, we know it will be a tough game and that the fans will be behind us.”
Face-off for tonight’s home match against Fife is at 5pm.
All images: Derek Black.
