A classy home-ice performance from Manchester saw them control the contest against Dundee Stars to run out comfortable 5–1 winners.

The game’s first scoring chance fell to Cutler in the third minute when Gilmour found his linemate wide inside the face-off circle. With half a net to aim at, however, the import whistled his effort just wide. The mightily impressive DeRidder, between the pipes for Storm, then introduced himself to proceedings with a highlight-reel windmilling glove stop to deny a stunned Naas in the eighth minute. Just as the midway point of the period ticked over, a strong effort from Hinam slipped between the pads of Fiske and lay loose in the blue paint. The onrushing Gilmour was most alert and poked it home to open the night’s scoring.

The middle twenty meandered into life, with the only notable moment initially being a good stop from Fiske to deny young British forward Lee in the 27th minute after he found himself with plenty of space in the Stars’ defensive zone. Then a two-goal burst within 13 seconds from the hosts blew the encounter wide open and changed the course of the game. A face-off win by Gilmour found Hinam, who rifled a one-timer into the Stars net to make it 2–0. A complete defensive breakdown from Dundee allowed Manchester to strike again on the very next attack, with Welsh skating into the zone unchallenged before lifting his shot over the glove of Fiske.

A shorthanded chance soon followed for Dundee as Schoobaert intercepted a cross-ice pass and bore down on DeRidder, but the netminder turned aside the forward’s effort to the relief of the Storm power-play unit. The missed opportunity would prove costly, as the hosts went up the other end to add a fourth unanswered goal. A low, fizzing effort from Ulett near the blue line evaded everyone and left the visiting Scottish side with a huge mountain to climb.

Dundee did finally get on the scoresheet with just 15 seconds remaining in the period as they converted a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity. A handful of excellent stops in tight from DeRidder initially kept the Stars at bay before one effort too many forced a rebound, allowing Kielly to slot home from point-blank range.

A highly professional final period from Manchester saw them play within themselves offensively to protect their three-goal advantage. This canny approach forced Dundee further and further up the ice in search of a second, only for an expertly worked counter-attack to all but end proceedings. Cutler sold the shot from the wing before perfectly teeing up Gilmour, who snapped home his second of the night to make it 5–1. The final moments were played out in a competitive manner, despite the scoreline, with Lee and Kielly both assessed minor penalties for roughing in the last action of the match. 

Words by: Callum Schora