By Luke McGinnis
A delay of game penalty on Bradley Schoonbaert gave the Panthers the first powerplay of the game. The Stars’ penalty kill was tight however, as the best chance for the visitors came through Jarod Hilderman who’s shot rang the post.
Just as the penalty came to an end, Brendan Harris opened the scoring for the first goal of the game. Emil Kruse made an initial save on Cooper Zech, however the puck fell kindly for Harris and he fired the puck from a tight angle into the Stars’ net at 11:53.
A scrum after the whistle, sparked by a slash on Kruse from a Nottingham forward, led to Drydn Dow being assessed a minor for cross checking. David Noel converted a minute into the man advantage, doubling the Panthers’ lead as he fired a one-timer from the slot past Kruse.
Dundee got their first powerplay of the evening when Jarod Hilderman was called for holding, shortly followed by Matt Alfaro taking a holding penalty to give the Stars a 5-on-3 opportunity. Former Stars’ netminder Kevin Carr was forced to make a number of key saves, as the Panthers managed to keep the score 2-0 heading into the first intermission.
The Stars began the second strong, as Matt Berry was robbed by Kevin Carr less than a minute in for Dundee’s best chance of the night so far.
Didrik Henbrant was called for interference at 22:18, giving the Stars’ a chance to get on the board early. A shorthanded breakaway for Ollie Betteridge almost gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead, however Emil Kruse was sharp and denied his shot.
A strong cycle in the offensive zone saw the puck land with Griffin Luce, who fired a shot from the point that beat Carr blocker side at 25:56.
After Henbrant was once again called for interference, Otto Nieminen equalised on the powerplay 37:13, scoring his first goal as a Star against his former team. A narrow angle shot by Keanu Yamamoto was saved by Carr, but the rebound fell to Nieminen in the slot who fired it home to make it 2-2 going into the final period.
A back-and-forth third period saw Didrik Henbrant make it 3-2 early at 42:15, firing home his own rebound after Kruse made the initial save.
A turnover in the Stars’ zone sprung Brendan Harris one-on-one with Kruse, however the Stars’ netminder stood tall and denied the Panthers forward his second goal of the game. Mitch Fossier carried the puck over the blue line, managing to evade a check by Drydn Dow to subsequently get behind the Stars defense and backhand the puck past Kruse at 51:39. An empty net goal by Didrik Henbrant sealed the win for the visitors, claiming the two points in Dundee.
The MKM Dundee Stars will look to bounce back tomorrow night, as they travel to Nottingham for a massive rematch with the Panthers.
