Dundee Stars came back late to force overtime and then a shootout against Manchester Storm, where they picked up the bonus point with a perfect set of penalty shots.
“I thought the game was pretty back and forth, we gave up some chances throughout but Kruse played strong and we were able to push back,” said Stars. Justin Bean. “We want to end on a high note and be consistent. We’re professionals, so hopefully we can win as many games as possible down the stretch and finish strong.”
J.D. Dudek opened the scoring at 07:46, firing a shot from the left circle over the glove of Emil Kruse.
Spencer Naas responded at 10:45 to level the game at 1-1, breaking into the Storm zone and beating Evan Weninger with a quick wrist shot.
Brady Gilmour restored the visitors’ lead at 15:33, converting a cross-ice pass from Brandon Cutler with a one-timer.
Dudek struck again at 27:12, firing through traffic after a Storm faceoff win in the Stars’ zone.
“We’ve gone to a lot of overtime and shootout games this year, at the start of the season we were strong at them but we’ve seemed to struggle getting games over the line recently so it’s extra frustrating right now,” said Dudek. “We know how short the playoffs can be, so the rest of the season we’ve got to start playing playoff hockey and getting used to it.”
Otto Nieminen cut the deficit to one at 31:58, sending a shot from the blue line through traffic past Weninger.
Ben Almquist found space behind the Storm defence, collecting a stretch pass from Drydn Dow and breaking in alone to beat Evan Weninger at 55:22.
A late high-sticking penalty on Bradley Schoonbaert proved costly, with Harrison Caines converting on the resulting powerplay at 56:16.
Justin Bean equalised at 59:05, firing a shot from the point through traffic past Weninger.
“It’s nice to get one, especially in the last minute. We were relentless, and I feel like we deserved to tie the game so I’m glad I was able to find the back of the net” added Bean on his goal.
Neither side found a winner in overtime, sending the game to a shootout. Dow, Otto Nieminen and Kameron Kielly all scored for the Stars, while Emil Kruse stopped all three Storm attempts to secure two points.
Photo: Derek Black
