Davey at the double for Steelers in Dundee

Welcome to our match report from last night's Challenge Cup quarter final first leg game in Dundee.

After losing another Erhardt Conference game on Sunday, Steelers players were in proverbial hot water post game as head coach Paul Thompson gave them the old Alex Ferguson hairdryer treatment. He even cancelled their day off the following day. The next game in the schedule involved yet another midweek trip to Scotland and Tayside again as they locked horns once more with Omar Pacha and his Dundee Stars side. Dundee were Steelers' "pick" of quarter final opponents when the draw, and it represented another chance to extend the run against the Stars coach.

Team news saw the same Steelers side that lost to Belfast, although defenceman Zack Fitzgerald had started his recovery - Thompson didn't risk the stalwart. Dundee have had injuries galore all season and were still short benched for this game, former Steeler Chris Lawrence, Johan Andersson and Anthony Mastrodicasa were injured whilst Ben Edmonds was on GB Under 20 duty in Dumfries alongside Steelers duo Liam Kirk and Cole Shudra.

Looking to give themselves the best possible chance of making the semi-final, Steelers started with urgency and within five seconds of the initial puck drop, Stars netminder Travis Fullerton was forced into his first save of the night. The pressure continued and the deadlock was almost broken when Robert Dowd picked up a rebound but saw his effort find the pipework. Little had been seen from the home side but the home support in a very sparse crowd of 400 were cheering at 13:47, Jordan Cownie (he who had an ill-fated spell at Braehead) lighting the lamp via a deflection of sorts off Mark Matheson. Just over two minutes later Steelers levelled whilst on a 5 on 3 powerplay as Cameron McGiffin and Riley Stadel both served minors, Colton Fretter the scorer with a one timer that beat Fullerton short side for the Canadian's 12th of the season. 39 seconds later, whilst on the 5 on 4 now, Steelers scored again. Andreas Valdix given time by the generous Stars defence to pick his spot and fire home his 8th of the season over the blocker of the netminder.

The period ended 2-1 in the Steelers favour, and both teams came out for the second equally content to test the other. It was going to be a case of who scored next, and thankfully for the Steelers it was a third unanswered goal at 27:31. Some great team play had Dundee all over the proverbial shop before Ben O'Connor provided the magic and sniped it home for his 6th of the season. Back came the Stars, not showing signs they were ready to roll over, and they made it a one goal hockey game with just over four minutes left in the middle period. Former Edinburgh and Manchester forward Taylor Dickin showing good skills of his own before depositing the puck beyond Ervins Mustukovs. Mustukovs then ensured the lead would stay intact at the second period as he denied the home side on three separate occasions.

It promised to be an crucial third period, and Mustukovs was again at in the early stages of it to keep the lead in place before Steelers opened up the two goal margin again with just under four minutes play in that period. Good play by John Armstrong and Dowd saw the latter set up Davey Phillips of all people and Shaggy lit the lamp for his first of the season abetted by a post. The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Dundee as less than a minute later Levi Nelson got on the scoresheet with an effort that again beat Fullerton over his blocker for 5-2, the winger's 10th of the season. However, we had to wait until 57:19 before Steelers added a sixth. Shaggy with a floater that somehow found it's way home, which begs the question: who was giving him the Scooby Snacks as two goal games aren't usually the Beverley-born blueliner's forte. The scoring was complete at 58:13, Matt Marquardt down the wing and then finishing past the Stars goalie for 7-2; and a 11th goal of the season.

So it ended 7-2 on the night, and Steelers have taken a massive step to making the final four. Only a comeback that even Lazarus would be proud of from the Stars can deny them it; the winners to face either Fife or Cardiff in the New Year.

Time for the statistics:

Goals: Stars 2 Steelers 7

Steelers Scoring:  Nelson 1+2, Dowd 0+3, D.Phillips 2+0, O'Connor 1+1, Armstrong 0+2, Westerling 0+2, Valdix 1+0, Marquardt 1+0, Fretter 1+0, J.Phillips 0+1, Matheson 0+1.

Stars Scoring: De Concilys 0+2, Cownie 1+0, Dickin 1+0, Jensen 0+1, Gould 0+1.

Shots On Goal:  Stars 22 Steelers 38

Powerplay: Steelers 2 from 5 (40% conversion), Stars 1 from 6 (17% conversion)

Penalty Minutes called: Stars 10 Steelers 12

Steelers Goaltender Stats: Mustukovs 20 Saves (173), GAA: 2.00 (2.50), Save Percentage 90.90% (92.00%)

Man of the Match: Levi Nelson (Steelers), Jordan Cownie (Stars)

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