By Luke McGinnis
Belfast came out of the gates early, generating a number of quality chances throughout the opening minute of play.
The Giants thought they had opened the scoring at 03:08, with the puck finding its way into the Stars’ net. However, following a referee-initiated video review, it was determined that a Belfast player had struck the puck out of midair and into the net with their hand, meaning the score would remain 0-0.
Nicolas Guay opened the scoring for the visitors at 10:31, firing a rebound past Vladislav Pestov after the Stars’ netminder had made an initial pad save on a tight-angle shot.
Mason Klee doubled that lead at 14:15, blasting a one-timer through traffic past Pestov to make it 0-2 heading into the first intermission.
Belfast made it 0-3 through Patrick Guay at 30:04. Despite Pestov making a tough pad save on Nicolas Guay on a breakaway, Patrick Guay was first to the loose puck and fired it into the Stars’ net.
A second referee-initiated review was called following the goal to determine if there had been any goaltender interference. However, this time the call went in favour of the visitors and the goal remained.
Keaton Jameson pulled a goal back for the Stars, redirecting a shot from the point past Jackson Whistle at 38:04 to make it 1-3.
Dundee pushed hard to find an equaliser during the third, putting Whistle to the test throughout, including a key powerplay opportunity just three minutes into the period.
Despite this, Scott Conway finished the scoring to make it 1-4. Pestov made back-to-back stops in close, however, Conway pounced on the rebound and sent it into an empty Stars’ net at 51:45.
