By Luke McGinnis
“I think we played good,” said Matt Berry, who scored four points on the night. “From the start we played hard, got to a lead and stuck with it for a full sixty so I think we’re happy with our effort.”
Craig Garrigan gave the Stars a dream start, opening the scoring just 2:53 into the game with his first goal of the year. Drydn Dow picked him out with a pass from below the goal line, leaving Garrigan free in the slot to backhand the puck past Alexis Gravel to make it 1-0.
Belfast hit back quickly, as Reid Irwin’s shot from the circle deflected off a Dundee stick and slipped past Jarrett Fiske at 05:08 to tie things up. At 11:26, Jackson DeSouza’s shot from the point was blocked, but the loose puck fell perfectly for Ben Almquist, who buried it to restore the lead.
Phenomenal goaltending from Fiske denied the Giants late in the first, keeping the score 2-1 heading into the first intermission.
Dundee came out strong in the second period, with Spencer Naas making it 3-1 on the power play at 20:32. After a delay-of-game penalty was called against the Giants, Naas fired the puck past Gravel, forcing the visitors to call a timeout and prompt a goaltender change.
The pressure kept coming, and another Stars power play saw Hampus Olsson pounce on a rebound in close, slotting home at 25:24 to extend the lead to 4-1. The Giants pulled one back almost immediately, as Nicolas Guay carried the puck into the Dundee zone and fired a high-slot wrist shot through traffic to beat Fiske at 25:58.
Matt Berry scored the lone goal of the third period at 48:34.
“It was nice to get on the board tonight,” said the Star. “I was a little cold the last two games, but I’ve got to credit the team and my linemates who worked really hard out there and found me a couple times.”
Capitalising on sustained pressure in the Giants’ end, Berry collected the puck behind the net and slid it past a sprawling Jackson Whistle to make it 5-2.
Belfast pressed hard to find a way back, but Fiske stood tall, shutting the door for the rest of the game and sealing a well-earned 5-2 victory for the Stars.
“We’ve had a hard time keeping leads a couple of times this season,” added Berry. “We get one and seem to let teams come back, so tonight was nice getting the two-goal lead going into the third and being able to keep it.”
