MANCHESTER STORM 3 TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 4
On Saturday night, the Trade-Mart Dundee Stars broke the hearts of Manchester Storm as they produced a stunning comeback south of the border to keep themselves well placed in the race for a playoff spot.
By Kris Smith
The Stars arrived in Manchester with the two points the only thing on their minds but they found themselves two goals down after only nine minutes, as defenseman Zach Sullivan bagged a rapid brace.
The home team had jumped straight on the attack and with pressure on Dundee in their own end, Sullivan would float a shot towards goal in the third minute, that went through traffic in front before hitting the back of the net.
Jarrett Fiske would then be beaten again on nine minutes as Sullivan once again hit a long-range effort that would beat the American goalie down low as his sight was blocked by bodies in front.
Manchester had made the perfect start and did not let up on their opponents but Dundee would not back down and slowly began to find their footing.
The first period ended with the Altrincham side still up by two but in the second session, a few powerplays in favour of the Stars allowed them to get their offence moving.
Despite three man advantages in the middle stanza, Marc LeFebvre’s powerplay unit would be unable to convert but would finally find a way past David Tendeck in the 40th minute.
Keanu Yamamoto had been chipping away at the Storm goal all night but inside the last minute of the second period, he cut across the Manchester end and with a quick release, beat Tendeck over his left shoulder.
In the third period, the Taysiders moved swiftly to level the score at 2-2 as captain, Drydn Dow took Yamamoto’s pass and flung it past the Storm goalie from just inside the blueline on 43 minutes.
Mike Morin’s side then gave the visitors a chance to take full control as Dundee went back on the powerplay straight after they scored the equalising goal.
However, it would be the penalty killers who took advantage of the situation as Cameron Critchlow skated onto a loose puck and flew down the ice, beating Fiske with an accurate shot into the far-right top corner.
After the Storm had responded in just 41 seconds to regain the lead, Dundee would step up their efforts once again, which resulted in another equaliser on the 50-minute-mark as Domenic Alberga added his name to the scoresheet.
As the Stars came forward, Kameron Kielly had played the puck across from right to left and Alberga would shoot low and between the legs of Tendeck to make it 3-3.
Then Just 61 seconds later, Philippe Sanche fired Dundee into the lead for the first time on the night as he latched onto a loose puck and blasted a shot into the back of the Storm net.
The home side tried to rally late and force overtime but Fiske would stand firm to keep the English out as the clock ticked down, sealing the two points for the Stars and capping off a 37-save performance for the keeper.
Glasgow Clan were 4-2 winners at home against Guildford Flames meaning both Scottish side’s head into tomorrow’s clash in Dundee level on 35 points, with the winner taking hold of seventh position in the Elite League table.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #20 Keanu Yamamoto
Manchester: #21 Zach Sullivan
Goals
1st:
1-0 Zach Sullivan (C.J. Garcia, Tyler Hinam) 02:06
2-0 Zach Sullivan (C.J. Garcia, Tyler Hinam) 08:56
2nd:
2-1 Keanu Yamamoto (Brett Gravelle, Cole MacDonald) 39:18
3rd:
2-2 Drydn Dow (Keanu Yamamoto) 43:41
3-2 Cameron Critchlow (Dallas Ehrhardt, Tyler Rockwell) 44:22 SHG
3-3 Domenic Alberga (Kameron Kielly, Drydn Dow) 50:00
3-4 Philippe Sanche (Keanu Yamamoto, Kyle Pouncy) 51:11
All images: Storm Images.
