TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 3 BELFAST GIANTS 4 OT
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars came so close to another victory over Belfast Giants on Hogmanay but could not fend off a comeback from the Northern Irish side at the DIA, as they took the win in overtime.
By Kris Smith
After the Giants were delayed getting to Dundee, the game would be pushed back by 45 minutes and the Stars made sure to take advantage as they came out flying with speed and energy, eventually turning that into the opening goal after eight minutes.
Belfast would win possession in the Dundee end but a blocked shot by Jake Elmer meant the puck fell to Jonathan McBean, who along with Elmer took off down the ice and McBean would slip a pass in behind for his teammate before Elmer shot high past Jackson Whistle.
The Stars then had the first and only powerplay of the first period as Karl Boudrais was sent to the penalty box for elbowing Dundee’s Craig Garrigan in the head.
Marc LeFebvre’s side were unable to convert on the man advantage but held their narrow lead going into the second period after an outstanding 20 minutes from Jarrett Fiske in the Dundee goal, as he turned away all 26 efforts he faced.
Brendan Harms had almost doubled the lead in the final seconds of the first but he was denied from point blank range by Whistle and in the second session, Fiske continued his fine form as he kept on stonewalling the Giants.
The Taysiders would soon find some breathing room as Elmer bagged his second by tipping Kyle Pouncy’s shot from distance past Whistle, on 33 minutes and it all seemed to be going in Dundee’s favour at that point as they looked increasingly more dangerous as every minute passed.
However, the Giants would be gifted their first powerplay of the night as Xavier Pouliot would be punished on the charge of roughing and that gave Adam Keefe’s side the chance they needed to finally find a way past Fiske.
Nearly one minute into the two-minute powerplay, Mark Cooper would try to jam the puck past Fiske with a low shot from the left post but the American goalie made a pad save and the puck would spring out to J.J. Piccinich who lifted his shot into the top of the Dundee net.
The Stars had to cling onto their lead for the final few minutes of the middle period but still found ways to create some dangerous breaks and would be unable to find a crucial third goal before the start of the third period.
Dundee made the perfect start to the third period as Spencer Naas made it 3-1 on 44 minutes as he buried Harms’ pass into the Belfast goal but the Northern Irish side did not lose their fight and battled on.
It took until the 55th minute before the Giants could beat Fiske again but Scott Conway would capitalise on a loose puck and slide it along the ice and in at the far-right post, cutting the lead back down to one.
Just over a minute later, Jordan Kawaguchi would tip Mike Lee’s backhanded shot under the glove of Fiske to tie the game and with four minutes left on the clock, it could have gone either way.
Although, Belfast did take advantage of the big momentum swing but Dundee held on to claim a point and force the game to overtime.
However, just 24 seconds into the extra period, Ben Lake would net the winner for the Giants after Cooper tried to cut across the face of goal but Fikse poked the puck off of his stick, which sent it straight into the path of Lake and he fired home to clinch the extra point for Belfast.
The Stars now have three days before their next game as they start 2025 off with a trip to South Wales to face Cardiff Devils on Friday.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #33 Jarrett Fiske
Belfast: #10 Scott Conway
Goals
1st:
1-0 Jake Elmer (Jonathan McBean) 08:29
2nd:
2-0 Jake Elmer (Kyle Pouncy, Ben O’Connor) 33:23
2-1 J.J. Piccinich (Mark Cooper) 36:30 PPG
3rd:
3-1 Spencer Naas (Brendan Harms, Kameron Kielly) 44:29
3-2 Scott Conway (Unassisted) 54:08
3-3 Jordan Kawaguchi (Scott Conway) 55:19
OT:
3-4 Ben Lake (Mark Cooper, Karl Boudrais) 60:24
All images: Derek Black.
