Stars stun Giants again to earn perfect boost

ICE HOCKEY: Dundee take big road win into cup quarter-final

BELFAST GIANTS 2 DUNDEE STARS 4

A full-strength Dundee Stars side claimed their second win in Northern Ireland on Saturday.

Stars head coach Omar Pacha said: “It was a huge win. It was important to keep the momentum going we had built from last weekend.

“Belfast are the defending champions, so it is always hard to go and play in their building but that is twice we have beaten them in their home arena this year, so that is a really good accomplishment for the team.”

Stars withstood early pressure with Adam Keefe’s men creating most of the chances but all their shots were from distance and that gave Stars netminder Alex Leclerc time to track the puck.

Dundee edged closer on the counterattack and took the lead in 15 minutes.

Drydn Dow saw his first shot saved but the rebound came back to the Stars defenceman and he sent his second effort over the right shoulder of Belfast goalie Shane Owen.

Pacha’s men held on to their lead until the first break but the hosts came out with an attacking mindset again.

A scramble in front of the Dundee net saw Leclerc make a few vital saves before the puck was lost under a pile of bodies. However, Belfast’s Brian Ward located it behind the net and fed a pass to Mark Garside who fired a hard slapshot that beat the keeper as he tried to recover in the 23rd minute.

Stars’ goalie went straight back to top form as he denied Giants on a number of occasions.

The visitors were still creating plenty of opportunities from counter-attacks and came close to retaking the lead when there was a scramble in front of the home net.

Before the puck was found, though, a Belfast player slid across the goal to protect his net but knocked it off the pegs, resulting in a stoppage of play.

Stars saw off a penalty on Justin Maylan for hooking with Leclerc making a great stop to deny Liam Reddox.

Leclerc was kept busy before his side were given some relief from the relentless waves of Giants attacks when

Curtis Leonard was sent to the penalty box for tripping in the 38th minute.

That gave Stars the chance to reclaim the lead and it was Anthony Beauregard who did just that.

Pacha’s side took advantage of another penalty with 24 seconds left in the second stanza.

Stars worked the puck down low to the Giants goalline and Kevin Dufour sent a pass to Elgin Pearce who scored just 57 seconds into the third period.

Former Star Paul Swindlehurst headed for the Belfast dressing room with an injury but there was a chance for Giants to respond as Dow was penalised for high-sticking in the 47th minute. However, a fine defensive display from Dundee preserved their two-goal lead.

Ben Lake had a chance to get Keefe’s side back within one goal but Leclerc forced him wide and he was unable to get his shot on target.

Jordan Smotherman had two great chances in quick succession but saw both bounce off the Dundee stopper.

With three minutes to go, Keefe took off Owen for an extra attacker but Dundee continued to dictate the play and Matt Marquardt fought off Smotherman to slide the puck into the empty goal with just 18 seconds left.

Bobby Farnham added a consolation for Belfast with just 1.6 seconds to play.

Another win at the SSE Arena gives Stars a big boost for Friday’s Challenge Cup quarter-final first leg against Glasgow Clan, who were beaten 6-4 by Fife Flyers on Saturday.

Alex Leclerc: Denied Belfast.