By Luke McGinnis
Dundee got off to a dream start, with Tim McGauley being called for interference within the opening 30 seconds. A strong forecheck by Maxim Eliseev behind the Storm net sent the puck in front, where Stars’ captain Travis Ewanyk was waiting and fired the puck home to make it 1-0 at 01:07.
Both sides exchanged chances throughout the opening frame, forcing DeRidder and Vladislav Pestov to make a number of tough saves.
Josh Nelson came close to doubling the Stars’ lead at the halfway mark, firing a shot which rang the post of DeRidder, while Pestov robbed Brady Gilmour with a sliding pad save towards the end of the first period.
Manchester thought they had equalised at 21:45, with Brandon Clavelle knocking the puck past Pestov. However, after a referee-initiated review, it was determined the Storm defenceman had hit the puck with a high stick and the score remained 1-0.
A slashing call on Craig Moore gave the Storm their first power play of the night, which Kyle Maksimovich converted at 27:33 as he put a rebound past the Stars’ netminder to equalise the score.
Both goaltenders were once again busy at both ends of the ice, keeping the score at 1-1 heading into the final period.
Sebastian Bengtsson restored the Stars’ lead early in the third, redirecting a powerful shot from the point by Powell Connor at 41:50.
Ewanyk scored his second of the night at 43:33, sending the puck past DeRidder after the Storm netminder had made the initial pad save on Maxim Eliseev to make it 3-1.
Former Star Drydn Dow pulled the Storm back within one at 56:05, firing the puck from the high slot past Pestov after the Stars’ netminder had made a flurry of saves in close.
Brandon Cutler equalised late, firing a quick wrist shot from the left circle into the Stars’ net at 57:50 to send the game into overtime.
Dundee and Manchester exchanged chances throughout the extra frame, with the Stars’ best chance coming from Rasmus Nousiainen, who deked past the Storm defence and was narrowly denied by DeRidder in close.
Just as it seemed the game was destined for a shootout, the Storm broke into the Stars’ zone late with a two-on-one rush. Anton Karlsson fired a shot off the crossbar, however Tim McGauley was there to slide it into the net with just four seconds remaining.
