Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Stars play-off following two
DUNDEE Stars took four points from their three matches to keep their play-off hopes alive.
On Friday, they won 4-1 against Fife Flyers in Kirkcaldy.
They had a disappointing result in Dundee on Saturday against Coventry Blaze when they lost two goals in the last two minutes to be beaten 4-2.
Last night, they produced scintillating play to come back from 2-0 down to defeat Milton Keynes Lightning 9-4.
Stars won the second period 6-1, producing some great play, especially from their special teams.
Coach Omar Pacha said: “It was a great comeback win in Fife.
“Coventry were tough and we didn’t capitalise on our chances.
“Against Milton Keynes, I wasn’t happy with the first period and I let them know that in the locker room.
“They responded to it and produced a great spell of hockey that ranks among the best of the season. The special teams were excellent, especially on the powerplay and four wins from our last five games is encouraging.
“We have a lot of hockey still to play and we are all confident we can make the play-offs.
“The fans have been amazing over the weekend and we responded to that backing. We will get back to practice this week and fully prepare for next weekend.”
Against Flyers, Carlo Finucci gave the home side a 1-0 lead.
Anthony Mastrodicasa, Jimmy Jensen, Gabriel Levesque and Malcolm Gould then netted for Stars.
Against Blaze, the home side received a boost when Johan Andersson returned to the line-up after a long spell out through injury.
Stars gave up two powerplays in the opening period with Levesque and Carlson both sitting out two-minute minors.
However, the home team defended their player deficit to keep the game level at 0-0.
With one minute remaining till the first break, Blaze took the lead with a strike from Marc-Olivier Vallerand. That was against the run of play as Stars outshot their opponents 16-7.
The middle session saw the visitors take the upper hand. It paid off after 36 minutes when Dax Lauwers made it 2-0.
Six minutes into the final period, Dundee netted through Brian Hart.
Just over one minute later, the game was tied at 2-2 when Emerson Hrynyk levelled.