By Kris Smith
Stars kick-off 2018 with a visit from Braehead Clan as they look to continue their good home form into the new year.
Dundee will have redemption on their mind after they were shutout 6-0 on the road by the Glasgow side on Hogmanay. Michal Gutwald put Braehead ahead just before the five-minute mark. Tyler Scofield bagged one goal in the first and another, one minute into the second period to extend the home side’s lead to 3-0.
Brendan Brooks made it 4-0 before the halfway point and Stars could not get off the mark before the end of the second. Clan continued their dominance as Mike Embach added a fifth to the Braehead tally before Scofield scored a third to complete his hat-trick and round off the game at 6-0.
It was a very different story the first time the Gardiner Conference rivals met. Stars were narrowly defeated on the west coast as they let slip a 2-1 lead to give the home side a 3-2 advantage in the middle period which they held to the final buzzer.
Dundee announced two new signings on Monday night and can be boosted as one may be eligible to face Braehead when they visit on Tuesday evening. Lukas Lundvald Nielsen arrived in Scotland on Monday and the team were working on the paperwork to make sure he was registered to play against Clan.
They have also announced the signing of ex-Braehead defenceman, Cody Carlson. Whilst with the Glasgow outfit he featured in 52 games and put up 15 points with 5 goals and 10 assists. The Canadian also totalled 51 penalty minutes.
Dundee will still be at least three skaters short as Chris Lawrence, Johan Andersson and Cody Carlson. John Tripp’s side had to face Dundee without Lee Esders, Ryan Potulny, Jordan Buesa and Josh Grieveson.
Talking about the hard task of finding replacements for the departed players at this time of year, Stars general manager, Omar Pacha, said “It was a gruelling 7 days to find these two players. The timing was horrendous but I do think we have the key pieces to the puzzle”.
Looking ahead to the conference clash with Braehead, he added: “This is a huge game in our season, it is a chance for us to start the year in the right way and set the tone for the rest of the season.
“We want to continue to produce strong home performances and that relies on us being tight at the back. We need to continue with our goal of getting back on track in the conference and I feel we are now in a good position to keep progressing as a team.”
