Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Stars set sights on a trio of wins
DUNDEE Stars are out to make it three wins from three this week as they host Glasgow Clan and Nottingham Panthers this weekend at the Dundee Ice Arena.
The Stars have two big opportunities to rediscover the fine form they were before Covid halted their hot streak back in December, as they had won six of their last seven matches.
However, two defeats between two different isolation periods had interrupted that form, but a victory against Manchester Storm on Thursday night has given them the chance to take a full six points from three home games in four days.
Dundee led the way all night against the Storm, with Charlie Combs goal from a rebound opening the scoring after five minutes.
Whilst Tyson Fawcett did pull Manchester back on to level terms in the 27th minute, Connor Sills restored the Stars’ lead before the end of the second period.
Two goals inside the last 14 seconds of the match from Dillon Lawrence and Sebastian Bengtsson secured the win for the Tayside team and moved them back above Glasgow and into eighth place.
If Omar Pacha’s men pick up another four points this weekend they could potentially climb above Coventry Blaze and be just a point behind Manchester and Guildford Flames, who are tied for fifth.
First up for the Stars is a Scottish rivalry match against the Clan tonight and the two teams have only met once so far this season, with Dundee defending their home ice with a 5-2 win.
Dundee’s goals came from Combs, Gabriel Desjardins, Bengtsson, Sills and Timi Lahtinen, while Colton Yellow Horn and
Cody Sol put up Glasgow’s two markers.
Malcom Cameron’s Clan have also not long been released from the Elite League’s Covid-19 Protocol as the Braehead-based club made their return on Tuesday.
Glasgow were 3-1 winners against Manchester on home ice before falling short 24 hours later, against Cardiff Devils in a 3-2 home loss.
Then tomorrow, the Stars play host to the leaderless Nottingham Panthers, who relieved Tim Wallace of his coaching duties on January 5. In the interim, veteran players, Mark Matheson and Stephen Lee will pick up the reigns.
Stars captain Drydn Dow shared his delight at making a winning start to this weekend’s trio of crucial games. He said: “It was very important for us to get that result and to get back to winning ways coming out of that break!
“With how close the standings are right now every point is crucial, so we need to continue this momentum going into the weekend games.”
Looking at what it will take to continue collecting points during this weekend’s matches, Dow continued: “We just need to keep doing the little things right.
“Coming out of the break there will be a few mistakes, so as long as we continue to play solid defensively, focus on playing a simple game and capitalise when we get our opportunities – we will give ourselves the best chance for success.”