Dundee Stars have reached the Elite League play-off finals weekend after a stunning comeback win over favourites Sheffield Steelers in the City of Discovery on Sunday night.
Omar Pacha’s men were staring defeat in the face after losing three early goals on home ice, but they battled back to clinch a 4-3 victory – and 5-3 on aggregate after Sebastian Bengtsson had sealed a 1-0 win in Sheffield 24 hours earlier.
Dundee will now face Belfast Giants in the semi-finals of finals weekend in Nottingham on Saturday, with Guildford Flames facing Cardiff Devils.
‘I’m so proud of the guys’
Omar said: “It’s unbelievable. The effort from the guys was second to none.
“I’m so proud of them. They have nothing left in the tank.
“They work so hard and they are so committed.
“It was a tough start for us but we thrive in adversity.
“It’s a great night and I’m sure the guys will enjoy it.
“We’ve got a big game now on Saturday and it’ll be a huge challenge.”
🎙Post-Game | #EIHL
Omar Pacha on guiding @DundeeStars into the Playoff Finals Weekend! pic.twitter.com/bohBd234Mv
— Premier Sports Elite League | #EIHL (@officialEIHL) April 24, 2022
The opening minutes saw a scrappy battle for possession with both sides testing the reactions of the netminders.
But the large Dundee Ice Arena crowd howled in dismay as Stars winger Philippe Sanche was dumped into the boards by Sheffield defender Sam Jones.
The Canadian failed to get back up to his feet and required medical attention, before being helped off the ice.
While he was being treated, Dundee enforcer Kyle Haas rushed on to the scene to get a hold of Jones, but referees stepped in swiftly before anything broke out.
The Dundee crowd was left furious after the only penalty called on the play was against Haas for unsportsmanlike conduct and that put the English side on the powerplay, which Marc-Olivier Vallerand would convert into the series-tying goal.
The Canadian forward sat himself out on the right flank and when Robert Dowd’s pass came across, Vallerand hit it first time past the diving Adam Morrison.
Despite the controversy, the Dundee players were not deflated and kept coming back at the Steelers, with Caly Robertson finding himself in possession and bearing down on goal.
The young Scot was being hooked by the stick of Tomasso Traversa but still managed to get a shot on target before drawing the penalty.
Pacha’s men were not able to answer back on their own powerplay and the visitors soon added a second goal of the night to put them ahead on aggregate.
It was a well-worked moved by Sheffield that saw them keep possession, despite a lot of challenges from Dundee players, and the puck eventually came across to Dowd, who again found Vallerand at the back post for a tap in on 14 minutes.
Sanche soon returned to the ice for the final five minutes of first period action, but Dundee were still two goals down by the end of the first period.
Sheffield added to their lead as Martin Latal deked his way past Morrison to make it 3-0 with the second period only 59 seconds old.
Stars finally they got the break they needed as a roughing penalty against Sheffield’s David Phillips put Sheffield down to four skaters and a high-sticking double minor against John Armstrong then gave Dundee a five-on-three powerplay.
Dundee’s Kalvis Ozols utilised his trade-mark slapshot to get the Tayside team on the board as he blasted Sebastian Bengtsson’s pass home from just inside the blueline.
This was the goal that put @DundeeStars into #POFW22! | #EIHL pic.twitter.com/hqXxtOrHLT
— Premier Sports Elite League | #EIHL (@officialEIHL) April 24, 2022
Pacha’s men were then shutdown during the rest of their over-lapping powerplay to begin the third period and it came all the way down to the final eight minutes.
That’s when Bengtsson scored the goal that put Dundee back on level terms as he was left unmarked on the right wing. Charlie Combs picked him out from across the ice and the Swede smacked home a rising shot into the top left corner.
Arena bouncing
A long-delay followed the goal as the officials needed some equipment repairs but when the game restarted, the Dundee Ice Arena was still bouncing.
Stars then got the perfect opportunity to get their noses in front as a penalty against Jones for slashing with 90 seconds left in regulation, put Dundee back on the powerplay.
After Steelers coach Aaron Fox decided to use his timeout, the Scots then knuckled down to make sure it would count and with only 65 seconds left to play Dundee grabbed the leveller.
Combs picked out Bengtsson on the right flank and he beat Rok Stojanovic with another bullet into the top right corner.
Sheffield then made the late gamble to pull Stojanovic in exchange for the extra attacker but that only allowed Dillon Lawrence to put Dundee two goals ahead and make it 4-3 on the night as he lobbed the puck into an empty net, from his own end of the ice.
The final buzzer kickstarted celebrations for the Stars and their fans.
