The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Dundee Stars get crunch tripleheader under way with clash in Kirkcaldy
Dundee Stars’ leading points scorer Gabriel Levesque again proved the ace in the pack as Omar Pacha’s side last night edged closer to a coveted Elite League play-off spot.
The visitors won two massive points in Kirkcaldy as they capitalised on their games in hand advantage over their playoff rivals and Gardiners Conference champions.
Dundee were boosted by the return of defencemen Riley Stadel to their lineup, while Liam Heelis and goaltender Andy Iles were back on Flyers teamsheet, with the latter selected to play the backup role.
The game got off to a quiet start with both teams having a few chances but nothing that caused any alarm for either side.
Fife got on the board first after holding the puck in the Dundee end for a brief period of time. Carlo Finucci threw the puck out in front of the Stars goal and it deflected off the skate of a Dundee defencemen before slipping past Travis Fullerton after nine minutes.
Thirty seconds later Dundee suffered a huge blow as Chris Lawrence was ejected from the game for cross-checking and that gave Flyers a five-minute powerplay.
Stars were defending well and the pressure on them was reduced when Finucci was sent to the box for hooking and that would cancel out the rest of the home side’s man advantage.
After Dundee regained their fifth skater, they went on the powerplay but failed to capitalise on a good chance to equalise.
Cody Carlson picked up a slashing penalty to send Fife back on the powerplay in the 17th minute.
The first period concluded with Todd Dutiaume’s side leading 1-0 but Stars had put in some good shifts towards the end.
The second period began at a slow tempo but Finucci returned to the box for slashing in the 27th minute.
This time Stars utilised their man advantage after some good build-up play when Anthony Mastrodicasa roofed a shot into the top of the net past Jordan Marr.
Gabriel Lévesque and James Isaacs both took two-minute minor penalties but both teams killed off the powerplays and returned to full strength.
The action had gone from end-to-end but just as play settled down Jimmy Jensen beat Marr up high as he sent Dundee ahead 2-1 after 38 minutes.
The middle period ended with Stars in front for the first time in the game, but they were in cruise control from then on as Lévesque added a third less than two minutes into the third period.
Dundee’s leading points scorer fired a shot that trickled through the pads of Marr and across the line.
Prior to Stars’ third goal the home fans had been celebrating when they thought they had found an equaliser but the puck hit the outside netting of the Dundee goal.
Flyers were put on the backfoot as they tried to find a way back into the game after Chase Schaber was penalised for holding in the 46th minute.
Pacha’s side could not extend their lead through that opportunity but soon did during normal play as Malcolm Gould fired a lovely shot into the top corner on 49 minutes.
Frustration was setting in among the Fife squad as they went 4-1 down. A big hit in the corner by Isaacs shortly after the restart caused multiple penalties and Lukas Lundvald to head to the Dundee locker room.
Lévesque picked up a roughing minor for defending his team-mate, while Issacs received two-minute minors for both elbowing and roughing plus a 10-minute misconduct penalty. There would be no more scoring or penalties as Dundee ran down the clock to see off Flyers for a second time in Kirkcaldy this season.
Stars now have a quick turnaround as they host Coventry Blaze tonight and Milton Keynes Lightning tomorrow and with the right results can move into the eighth and final play-off spot.
Fife are away to Manchester Storm tonight and travel to bottom side Edinburgh Capitals tomorrow.
FIFE FLYERS 1 DUNDEE STARS 4