THE CLAN........................................... 3 DUNDEE STARS.................................6
Clan’s hopes of getting the competitive season underway in positive fashion were dealt a blow as the visiting Dundee Stars stunned the large home crowd at intuBraehead.
Eight minutes in and Clan were already fighting an uphill battle.
Omar Pacha’s side got the opening goal after six minutes when a slip allowed Elgin Pearce to lay the puck off to Anthony Beauregard to slam in a one-timer.
Within two minutes, Pacha’s side had doubled their lead as Jordan Cownie’s pass from the left found Drydn Dow and he sent his shot into the roof of Patrick Killeen’s net.
Visiting goalkeeper Alex Leclerc made a great save to deny Nolan LaPorte the chance to pull one back.
And by the end of the opening session, the Stars were three up as Cownie’s shot from the right managed to sneak its way into the net to round off a fantastic first period for an on-fire Dundee.
LaPorte was denied again in the second when Leclerc stopped his double effort and it was starting to feel like it could be one of those nights for the hosts.
Clan did finally manage to get on the board when Travis Ehrhardt smashed one in from a central position at the blue line to reduce the arrears, which was credited to Mathieu Roy, who may have got the slightest touch on the way in.
Killeen then prevented a fourth for Stars with a terrific save as Matt Marquardt looked to finish one on the breakaway, but the home goalie spread himself brilliantly to make the block.
However, Dundee did manage to get another shortly after as Kevin Dufour’s shot from the left found its way into the top-right hand corner of the net.
Another from Clan kept their slim hopes alive of a comeback as Roy got his second point of the night to set up Craig Peacock, who finished from close range.
Early in the third, Elgin Pearce added a fifth with a rebound a minute into the session after Killeen had taken care of Beauregard’s shot.
And while Roy got his second of the game to keep the home side within touching distance, Marquardt slammed in a sixth to begin the weekend on a low note.