By Luke McGinnis
A back-and-forth opening period in Dundee saw chances at both ends of the ice, as the Stars and Blaze searched to open their regular-season campaigns with a bang.
Both sides had managed to hit the crossbar within the opening seven minutes, and both goaltenders were forced to make a number of tough saves throughout.
Nick Grima opened the scoring late for the visitors, firing a shot from the point through traffic which beat Carl Stankowski at 18:11.
A tripping penalty against Brynley Capps gave the Stars their first powerplay opportunity of the night, which Rasmus Nousiainen converted on at 27:00.
The Stars had managed to get the puck towards the Blaze net, and Nousiainen redirected it past fellow countryman Sisu Heikkeri in close.
A referee-initiated video review was conducted on a suspected kicking motion, however the call on the ice stood and the score was level.
Brett Perlini responded instantly, beating Stankowski in close to regain the lead for the Blaze just twenty-two seconds later.
Rasmus Nousiainen scored his second of the night at 51:30 to once again level the score. After Heikkeri had made an initial pad save on Keaton Jameson, Nousiainen was first to the rebound and fired it home.
The Blaze once again had a quick response, this time through Ryan Richardson, who capitalised on a faceoff win in the Stars’ zone and fired a one-timer past Stankowski at 55:27.
Stars captain Travis Ewanyk equalised less than a minute later on the powerplay, redirecting the puck into the Blaze net at 56:17.
Despite it looking like the game was destined for overtime, a late goal from Márkó Csollák secured two points for the Blaze, blasting a one-timer from the point past Stankowski at 57:26.
