By Kris Smith
Dundee were dominated by a fast-attacking Capitals team that punished the Stars with their clinical finishing.
Edinburgh got on the scoresheet inside the first three minutes after Pavel Vorobyev fired home a loose rebound, after Travis Fullerton could not hold the initial shot. The Stars could find no way to dismantle the Caps defence, even when they did Pavel Shegalo was there to make the save.
Dylan Anderson doubled Edinburgh’s lead at 15:42, after dragging the puck around Fullerton when he was found at the back door. The Stars went the entire first period with just four shots as the Capitals controlled the entire ice, the only positive for Dundee was they had killed two penalties, something they have struggled with this season.
It was all Caps for the opening minutes of the second period, Marek Tvrdon added a third goal to make it 3-0 at 22:51. Dundee tried to find a way to break down Dmitri Khristich’s side but their performance was incredible.
Malcolm Gould was the man who finally cracked the Caps after he collected his own rebound, to slip it past Pavel Shegalo at 27:24. Although to the Stars dismay Edinburgh continued to control the game and restored their three goal lead at 34:02, through Caps hitman, Mike Cazzola.
Sergei Banashkov got on the board as well as he shot past Fullerton at 37:51, after receiving the puck as he escaped the penalty box, he played a quick one-two and shot into the twine, making it 5-1. Mike Cazzola once again showed his pin-point accuracy as he snipered the puck, high into the Dundee goal with just 39:50.
Omar Pacha expressed his disappointment during the second intermission and when the teams returned to the ice, he had shaken things up. Craig Holland entered the net and Dundee brought the physical aspect to the game, in an attempt to bring themselves back into this massacre.
Edinburgh did not let-up, despite the hard-hitting play by Dundee, Caps latest addition, Julius Nyqvist bagged Caps seventh goal of the evening at 44:04. Adam Harding then took on Tyler Plews with some fisticuffs and the Harding got the takedown, which he hoped would spark a comeback for his side who were trailing by six goals.
Dundee looked dangerous for a while after the fight but it all came to nothing as Edinburgh continued their dominant performance. Stars killed another penalty but failed to produce on two chances of their own before, on their third powerplay, Malcolm Gould eventually beat Shegalo once more after Johan Andersson’s pass found him at the top of the left circle and he ripped a slapshot just under the crossbar, at 57:51.
The Stars could not find another five goals and concluded their first Gardiner Conference game with a 7-2 loss. Tomorrow night in Edinburgh, they play their final group stage game as they look to secure their place in the Challenge Cup Quarter-Finals. Face-off 6pm.
FINAL: Dundee Stars 2-7 Edinburgh Capitals
