Stars crash out of Challenge Cup as Steelers cruise through

Dundee Stars were dumped out of the Challenge Cup in emphatic fashion last night by one of the favourites.

Sheffield Steelers won the second leg clash in Yorkshire 6-1 to take the quarter-final tie 13-3 on aggregate.

The home side dominated in the later stages after the first session ended goalless, though Gabriel Levesque almost put Dundee ahead when he tested Ervins Mustukovs with a quick shot

Sheffield opened the scoring after 37 minutes on the powerplay after some brilliant skill from Miika Franssila.

He pulled it through Stars’ defence and around Travis Fullerton to extend his side’s aggregate advantage to six goals.

Paul Thompson’s men doubled their lead two minutes later when the puck was batted past Fullerton by Matt Mar qua rdt.

Then Steelers cut loose and Marquardt made it 3-0 early in the final session. It quickly became 4-0 as Zack Fitzgerald got on the scoresheet and spelled the end of Fullerton’s night. Craig Holland entered the net for the last 15 minutes – but he found himself facing a dominant Steelers who were hungry for more goals.

A powerplay goal on 47 minutes – Mathieu Roy tipping Ben O’Connor’s slapshot past Holland – made it 5-0 and former Edinburgh Capitals star O’Connor got one for himself moments later.

There was some consolation for Dundee as Justin Fox robbed Brad Day and fired one off the bar in the dying seconds.

Dundee now play host to rivals Fife Flyers this Friday.