Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Liam’s sportsmanship wins the day
DUNDEE STARS U/14s returned from Elgin on Saturday evening with a 20-1 victory against new team Moray Juniors.
However, it was the act of good sportsmanship that won the day as the league leaders refrained from running up a cricket score in this one-sided contest.
Elgin have suffered some disastrous results lately and their luck took another dip when their netminder picked up an injury during the warm-up but decided to play on.
Markers from Stephen Scott, Zak Simpson, Cadeyrn Harris, Alex Gorrie, Darren Donaldson, Ben Brown, and Jamie Edmonds brought the scoreline to an incredible 13-0 inside the first 10 minutes.
A quick time-out was called and Stars gallantly made the controversial decision netminders.
Liam Griffin loaned Moray goalie Ben Grant his Stars strip and swapped places.
This was the start of a highly-entertaining game, with Liam’s Stars team-mates trying their best to get a goal past him for the remainder of the match.
Despite taking 29 shots on goal in the middle period and 45 i n the third, Liam crushed his “opponents” by letting in just seven goals from a total of 74 shots.
Moray were able to break free at one point and scored a goal against Grant i n t he second period, ironically courtesy of former Dundee Stars player Regan Johnstone.
“I was so proud of the players,” said manager Andrea Brown.
“Most other clubs at this age level have gone up to Elgin and come back with ridiculously high scores which bolstered i ndividuals to swap stats. However, for our team it was about securing the win and having a good game of hockey.
“Nobody wants to watch a match where the opponents get thrashed by more than 30 goals, and this was the way it was heading if the team did not act.
“Liam was awarded a well-deserved Man of the Match for his performance between the Moray pipes, and Steven Innes, who gave 100% effort and set up three of the goals for his teammates, was given the accolade for Dundee.
“Our 14s squad were also able to offer U/12s Aidan Lorimer, Cadeyrn Harris, Joe Matthew, Lewis Neave and Zak Simpson a regular shift in this game and they did a fantastic job.
“We travelled there not expecting this to be a challenging match but thanks to Liam and his act of great sportsmanship this turned into a great game.”
Meanwhile, Stars U/16s had a mixed weekend with a 5-0 defeat at Murrayfield on Saturday and a 4-2 home win against Aberdeen the following day.
On Sunday, doubles from Rio Page and Jack Terroni were enough to secure the hard-earned win for Stars.
Luca De Simone picked up the MOTM award in Edinburgh with Page collecting the accolade against Lynx.
Manager Andy Crumley said of the game against Aberdeen: “Considering we had beaten them convincingly away, this was a hardfought game which saw Aberdeen twice come from behind to level the scores before Dundee managed to edge a couple of goals ahead.”
Stars U/20s bounced back from a 10-3 defeat in Dumfries on Saturday with a narrow 3-2 win against visitors Aberdeen on Sunday.
With just 12 minutes played, Dundee were trailing 2-0 when Ryan Smith scored a powerplay goal to gave the tiring Dundee bench a lift.
A few minutes later, Lewis Single equalised and MOTM Smith scored his second goal to take the lead.
Despite Aberdeen pulling their keeper in the final minute, Stars saw out the game.
Elsewhere, Stars U/12 pulled off a 28-0 victory up in Elgin.
Dundee’s MOTM was Eva Coulson.
DUNDEE DUCKS are hosting a development scrimmage against Ball Hockey Ayrshire on Saturday at Manhattan Works (9.30-11am).
Anyone over the age of 14 is welcome to come along and give it a try.
Contact Graeme Anderson on 07984 149028.
Right after the game, there will be an hour-long roller skating session for all ages.
Admission is £3 per person or £5 for parent and child.