Stars blown away as Storm are too strong

DUNDEE Stars went down 4-1 at Manchester Storm last night in a crucial Elite Ice Hockey League clash as they battle for a play-off place.

The Dundee side made one change to their line-up as forward Brent Beaudoin came in for Tommy Parrottino on the second line. They had a few chances in the opening moments but could not find a way past goaltender Evan Weninger.

Manchester began to push forward and eventually opened the scoring through Cameron Critchlow as he picked out the top-right corner of Kevin Carr’s net. Three minutes later, Johnny Corneil doubled the home team’s lead with a tap-in after the puck slipped through the legs of the Stars keeper.

In the second period, Matt Ginn’s side quickly extended their lead with another from Critchlow as he tapped in the rebound from Matt Murphy’s saved effort.

Halfway through the middle session, Dundee subbed out Carr for back-up goaltender Lucas Brine.

The tensions then boiled over between James Phelan and Manchester’s Stephen Johnson.

Phelan, pictured, was brought down by the Storm player and he bounced back up and went straight after Johnson, dragging him to the ice.

Johnson received a two-minute minor for tripping, while Phelan took two for roughing, two for cross-checking and a 10-minute major for abuse of an official.

Zack Phillips added a fourth goal in the 38th minute as he benefited from a loose puck and turned it past Brine after the goalie made the initial stop on Austin Farley’s shot.

In the third period, Stars tried to conjure up a response and eventually found a breakthrough on 56 minutes as Brendan Harms knocked down a Spencer Naas shot and tucked home the rebound. However, the night ended in defeat for Dundee as they lost a chance to strengthen their play-off position.

They now have a day off before welcoming league leaders Sheffield Steelers to Dundee Ice Arena tomorrow.