Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Stars undone by sharp finishing from Steelers
DUNDEE Stars battled hard and came close to equalising multiple times, but were ultimately beaten as Elite League leaders Sheffield Steelers capitalised on their scoring chances to win 5-1.
Lucas Brine came in to start between the pipes in place of goalie Kevin Carr as he and forward Tommy Parrottino missed out.
In the opening minutes of the first period, Sheffield pressed hard for the first goal and Brine did well to beat away many efforts.
However, in the fifth minute, the 21-year-old was unable to stop Mitchell Balmas lifting home Daniel Ciampini’s pass from behind the net.
Dundee responded well and created numerous chances to level the score, but failed to get the final touch on the puck that would take it past Matt Greenfield in goal for the Steelers.
The visitors’ 1-0 lead remained intact at the end of the first period thanks to them clearing their lines and solid back-stopping by Brine at the other end.
In the second session, the Stars continued to edge closer to an equaliser and gained a huge momentum after Xavier Pouliot dropped the gloves with Sheffield’s Kevin Tansey for a heavyweight
bout in response to a huge hit by Pouliot on Patrick Watling.
After countless heavy blows from each player, the two tangled up and gave each other a show of respect.
All the momentum the Stars had generated then quickly dissipated, as Mikko Juusola extended the Steelers’ lead with a shot through Brine’s five-hole on 25 minutes.
The Stars produced another strong comeback and this time capitalised on their chance as Craig Garrigan back-handed a shot past Greenfield in the 31st minute.
Marc LeFebvre’s men’s kept pressing, but their bid for an equaliser was derailed when referee Toby Craig awarded Sheffield a penalty shot after Balmas was apparently fouled on his way to net.
Balmas then bagged his second of the night as he deked from left to right and tucked the puck past Brine at the very last second, making it a 3-1 advantage for Sheffield.
The Taysiders were dealt another blow as Cole Shudra tapped home a rebound from Zach Vinnell’s saved effort to make it 4-1 in the 39th minute.
In the third period, Dundee did not stop pushing but could not find a way past Greenfield and Josh Nicholls added the Steelers’ fifth on 45 minutes to seal the victory for Aaron Fox’s men.
The Stars’ next outing is at home to Coventry Blaze on Sunday.