By Kris Smith
Just three weeks ago, the Stars were 5-2 winners on home ice over Corey Neilson’s side as Darien Kielb and Liam Finlay found the net for Glasgow but they were already 3-0 down after Stars captain, Drydn Dow opened the scoring before Zach Tsekos netted a brace.
Once the Clan cut the lead to one, Jake Elmer and Domenic Alberga would add the final two goals to seal the victory for Dundee and also Richard Sabol’s first win in a Stars jersey.
Both teams suffered defeat last night as the Stars lost a 1-0 lead in Kirkcaldy and went on to be beaten 4-1 by Fife Flyers in Challenge Cup action, with Tsekos the lone scorer for the Tayside team.
Meanwhile, the Clan were defeated in Braehead as they lost 3-1 to Cardiff Devils and were 3-0 down before a last minute powerplay strike from Mitchell Heard broke Ben Bowns’ shutout hopes.
A pair from Cole Sanford, split by one from Josh MacDonald had the Welsh side 3-0 after 47 minutes and they would go on to hand Glasgow their second straight loss in the league.
Tonight’s Challenge Cup clash could see the Stars reclaim second spot in Group B after the Flyers moved above them last night after tying with them on five points, or the fourth-placed Clan can close the gap to one point to their Scottish rivals with two games still in hand over Dundee.
Speaking after last night’s defeat in Fife, Stars Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre said: “We have to change some things, for the last three gams our compete level has been non-existent and some guys are playing their way off this roster.
“They have to start showing something or I will make changes because I will not sit back and watch that.
“These last three games we just do not want to compete for 60 minutes, we lose every puck battle and we are not even on the same page right now.
“We need to rectify that quick and we have a chance tonight to rectify the weekend and these last three results with a performance at home against a Glasgow team, who are looking to pick up points in the cup also, so we just need a better effort.
“We have been here six weeks now and some guys are still on summer vacation but we will rectify that quickly.”
He continued: “Glasgow are a good team, every team in this league is good and you cannot just show up for 10 minutes because teams will pick you apart and we saw that in these last three games especially.
“You cannot take a night off in this league no matter if it is cup or league play, teams come after you hard and they come to play.
“We need to change something and get some offence going because we only have one goal in our last two games and in the previous five, we have shown that we can score.
“It is early days and there is no panic but the last three games are unacceptable.”
Face-off for tonight’s home game is at 5pm.
All images: Derek Black.
