Stars win crucial battle in race for playoffs

Photo: Derek Black

Dundee Stars picked up a home win over Glasgow Clan, putting them five points clear of dropping out of the playoffs, and moving them level on points with their Scottish rivals.

“It was a good game, obviously we got off to a slow start then they started to take some penalties and our powerplay was able to capitalise on it," said Spencer Naas who had a goal and two assists on the night. "The crowd really started to feed off that, giving us some energy and we were able to carry it into a huge win."

The first period in Dundee was largely controlled by the Clan, who maintained heavy offensive pressure throughout and denied the Stars any high quality scoring chances.

After Richard Sabol made a pad save on a shot from the point, a scramble ensued in front of the net, resulting in Felix Pare putting the loose puck in the back of the net for the only goal of the period at 04:44.

A takeaway in the defensive zone by Deven Sideroff led to a breakaway for the Canadian, who made no mistake and roofed the puck over the shoulder of Sabol at 27:01 to double the Clan’s lead.

Quick passing on a five-on-three power play resulted in the Stars’ first goal of the game, as Zach Tsekos found himself alone on the doorstep and slid the puck under the pads of Lucas Brine at 30:46 to cut the deficit in half. 

Tsekos equalised with his second goal of the period at 39:03, beating Brine with a wrist shot from the slot to make it 2-2 on a delayed penalty call. 

Dundee then took their first lead of the night just 13 seconds later at 39:16, with Philippe Sanche having a wide open goal to shoot into after a takeaway by Brett Gravelle behind the Clan net., putting the Stars 3-2 up after two periods.

“It wasn’t a terrible period we just found ourselves behind, we just wanted to keep playing the same way we were and wait for our chances, the powerplay got some opportunities and we were able to capitalise on that," added Naas. "Getting those two goals at the end of the second was a huge momentum shift and to be able to go into the third period with the lead and pull away was huge."

Minors on Keaton Jameson and Felix Pare put Clan two skaters down early in the third, and Spencer Naas punished them at 41:14 as the home side moved 4-2 ahead. Sabol pulled off an excellent save to deny Clan a 2-on-1 shorthanded goal as Chris McKay sat an elbowing penalty, and then the Stars broke up the other end to see Naas finish off a Brendan Harms pass to make it 5-2.

Keanu Yamamoto rubbed salt into Clan's wounds with a sixth 7:06 from the final buzzer to wrap up an excellent win for the Stars. A late penalty shot was also turned away by Sabol who ended the game with 40 saves.

Naas concluded: "It’s a huge win, it’s something we talked about before the game, we wanted to play well for the fans. We felt like we’ve owed them a good performance, we appreciate them sticking with us and continuing to support us. It makes a huge difference and tonight it looked like everyone was having fun, I hope they really enjoyed it and I hope to see everyone back soon."