By Kris Smith
The Kitmart Dundee Stars were defeated 3-1 by a hungry Manchester Storm side who punished Dundee for their poor discipline.
Dundee were without the suspended Egils Kalns and Manchester were missing two-way players, Liam Morris and Adam Barnes.
The home side had the best chances in the opening minutes but some good saves from Dundee’s Alex Leclerc kept the game scoreless.
Manchester netminder, Matt Ginn was then forced to make his share of vital saves as he denied the Stars on a number of shots before making an impressive double save to keep out Justin Maylan.
However, Omar Pacha’s men were in trouble after Shawn Boutin was penalised for holding in the eighth minute.
The Manchester powerplay unit showed how dangerous they can be before Tyson Fawcett broke the deadlock with just 15 seconds left on their man advantage.
Despite being down, Dundee nearly answered back in minutes as a redirected shot almost found its way past Ginn but the Storm goalie made the save and the rebound was quickly cleared away.
The home team held their 1-0 lead until the first break and the second period would not be what Stars needed.
After two failed powerplays, Dundee were again in penalty trouble as two penalties put them down a man for a lengthy period of time.
Just as Justin Maylan’s slashing penalty was expiring, Jagger Dirk was called for a cross-checking foul and that would prove to be a costly offence.
The Storm doubled their lead with another powerplay goal and Fawcett was involved again as his shot from the blueline was deflected by Scott Simmonds in the 35th minute.
Dundee then were given the chance they needed to get back in the game as Maylan was impeded as he progressed towards the Storm goal, resulting in a penalty shot.
The Canadian started off straight before veering to the left but Ginn stuck with him and stretched his arm out to stop the shot.
It went didnt get any better for Stars as Boutin headed back to the box after being caught slashing on 38 minutes.
Ryan Finnerty’s men found a third powerplay goal as Layne Ulmer tipped Cam Critchlow’s shot past Leclerc.
However, the Tayside team finally found a way past Ginn in the final minute of the second period.
Elgin Pearce drove his way through defenders before slipping the puck past Ginn with 44 seconds left on the clock.
The third period presented an early chance for Dundee as Mathieu Gagnon was penalised for a hooking infraction inside 42 minutes but again, they failed to make Manchester pay.
The Storm took advantage of their narrow ice to limit the Stars’ space to move the puck and continued to keep a man between the puck and the goal.
Dundee hit more penalty trouble as Drydn Dow and Anthony Beauregard picked up minor penalties before being handed another chance to get back in the game.
With Beauregard still in the box, Adam Hughesman slid to keep the puck in the Stars end but accidentally wiped out a Stars defender, leaving it four-on-four for a brief time.
Although, when they finally did get back on the powerplay, the outcome was the same for Pacha’s men.
Despite pressing hard in the final minutes, the Storm sat back comfortably and seen the game out to claim their first win of the new season.
Now the Stars have to quickly move on and refocus ahead of tomorrow’s HUGE derby match against fellow Saturday night losers, Fife Flyers. Buy tickets HERE!
Remember we will be hosting a collection of food and cash for Dundee Foodbank, any donations will be greatly received. Many Thanks in advance.
Man of the Match:
Dundee: #7 Elgin Pearce
Manchester: #16 Tyson Fawcett
Goals:
1st:
1-0 Fawcett (Thompson, Negrin) 09:50 PPG
2nd:
2-0 Fawcett (Negrin, Simmonds) 34:43 PPG
3-0 Critchlow (Hughesman, Ulmer) 38:29 PPG
3-1 Pearce (Dow) 39:16
3rd:
