TRADE-MART DUNDEE STARS 3 COVENTRY BLAZE 4
The Trade-Mart Dundee Stars exchanged goals back and forth with Coventry Blaze on Saturday night but would be stung by a late winner from the English club to leave them pointless in their only game of the weekend.
By Kris Smith
The Stars had been boosted by the return of imports Cole MacDonald and Xavier Pouliot to their line-up but they would find themselves behind after only two minutes of play, as Nick Seitz slipped in behind the Dundee defence and fired the puck past Jarrett Fiske.
Although, the home team soon began to gather some momentum with the line of Keanu Yamamoto, Brett Gravelle and Philippe Sanche creating the best chances for the Taysiders.
Eventually, Marc LeFebvre’s men would break through the Blaze defences as Brendan Harms blocked a shot in his own end and the puck sprung out of the zone and sent Spencer Naas in behind on a breakaway, where he would fool goalie, Mat Robson and slide the puck underneath him on eight minutes.
Both sides then had powerplay chances in the opening period but remained tied at 1-1 heading to the second, where Coventry were the only side to gain a man advantage as Dundee’s Kameron Kielly was punished for an illegal equipment foul after his stick snapped as he tried to shoot the puck towards goal and he then threw his stick away in frustration but at a dangerous height, earning him a two-minute penalty.
The Stars would kill off the penalty but the West Midlands team had created a lot of pressure and LeFebvre had called his timeout just before the Blaze powerplay to try and settle his side down, however in the 33rd minute, Alessio Luciani was left unmarked and he picked his spot past Fiske to restore the Blaze’s lead.
Although just four minutes later, Dundee would draw level again as Naas skated the length of the ice and saw his effort saved by Robson, but the rebound fell into the path of Harms and he was able to lift the puck into the back of the net from behind the goal line by shooting off the back of the Coventry keeper.
The two teams could still not be separated after 40 minutes and in the third period, Kevin Moore’s side again scored early to take the lead as Chase Gresock used a Dundee defender to take away the vision of Fiske before scoring into the right side of the Stars goal, inside 44 minutes.
Despite two more powerplay chances, the Taysiders continually fail to capitalise on their man advantages but once more, they found an equaliser as Yamamoto batted in the loose rebound from Gravelle’s saved attempt in the 50th minute.
With only 10 minutes left in regulation, neither side wanted to make a mistake that would cost them the game and a valuable point but in the 53rd minute, Luciani would put the puck on target and although Fiske was able to make the save, he was unable to stop Coventry blueliner, Alexander Kuqali from rushing in to smack home the rebound.
Dundee threw everything forward in the final minutes but failed to breakdown the Blaze for a fourth time and the final buzzer confined them to a pointless week but in their only reprise, Manchester Storm were also beaten which keeps their six-point lead over the Altrincham club in tact but the Storm play their game in hand on Sunday as they receive a visit from Cardiff Devils.
Next weekend, the Stars start on the road as they visit Sheffield Steelers on Saturday night and the Yorkshire club are making a late charge for Elite League title, before Dundee then return home to welcome the Devils to Tayside.
Man of the Match
Dundee: #18 Spencer Naas
Coventry: #29 Nick Seitz
Goals
1st:
0-1 Nick Seitz (Brandon Alderson, Terrance Amorosa) 02:47
1-1 Spencer Naas (Brendan Harms) 08:44
2nd:
1-2 Alessio Luciani (Nick Seitz) 32:18
2-2 Brendan Harms (Spencer Naas, Zach Tsekos) 36:49
3rd:
2-3 Chase Gresock (Nick Seitz, Michael Regush) 44:02
3-3 Keanu Yamamoto (Brett Gravelle, Philippe Sanche) 49:59
3-4 Alexander Kuqali (Alessio Luciani) 52:48
All images: Derek Black.
