The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Scarsella helps Stars upset form book
Vinny Scarsella bagged two goals in less than two, third-period minutes as bottom club Dundee Stars upset the form book with a confidence-boosting win.
The Tayside team sensationally shut out second-placed Sheffield Steelers, who had won their last four games, to snap a three-game losing streak and end the weekend with three points after a penalty shots defeat to Cardiff Devils on Saturday.
Coach Marc Lefebvre believed his men could produce a shock result this weekend and claim a major scalp, and they delivered after a blanked first session.
Dundee broke the deadlock when defenceman Kevin Hart found the net on a power play after a build-up involving Brett Switzer and Mikael Lidhammar.
The goal came at 35:25, and Stars held the advantage until the break.
Switzer turned from provider to scorer when he kept his cool to beat Steelers’ netminder Ervins Mustukovs with a penalty shot.
Stars then claimed two goals in less than two minutes to move into a 4-0 lead. Scarsella slotted on the power play with Felix Antoine Poulin and Joey Sides involved in the build-up.
And the former Manchester Storm forward doubled his account with a second, assisted by Kevin Hart.
Meanwhile at Kirkcaldy fourth-placed Fife Flyers went ahead after nine minutes against the runaway league pace-setters Cardiff.
Again it was on the power play with experienced Brendan Brooks on target.
The goal was set up by Carlo Finucci much to the delight of some Swindon Wildcats fans who had travelled north to watch their former player.
Brooks was sent to the sin bin at 14:28 for checking from behind and was also handed a 10-minute misconduct penalty.
The second session was blanked but three third-period goals settled the issue.
Chase Schaber sparked the goal rush after 44 minutes with Finucci netting number three with less than four minutes left and Justin Fox scored on an empty net after 57 minutes to make it 4-0.
On Saturday, Dundee were less than six minutes away from beating Cardiff.
They led 4-2 before Layne Ulmer on the power play and Guillaume Doucet netted, Doucet’s goal coming 50 seconds from the end of regulation time.
Earlier, Poulin fired Stars ahead after 24 minutes only for Doucet and David Brine to force the visitors in front after 35 minutes.
Sides scored to level at 2-2 less than three minutes later and that sparked Stars.
Poulin scored his second and Dundee’s third after 49 minutes and Kevn Bruijsten made it 4-2 two minutes later.
Up stepped Ulmer and Doucet to level and take the game into overtime and then penalty shots.
Jake Morissette failed but Poulin converted in the first round then Joey Martin netted for Cardiff to level at 1-1.
Vinny Scarsella missed and so did the next up, Patrick Asselin. Sides also failed along with Martin and Poulin, but a breakthrough came in the fifth round. Ice-cool Morissette erased his earlier miss by slotting but Bruijsten could not find the net. One point for Dundee.