The second instalment of action in the Braehead home double header had a lot to live up to after a gripping clash with Belfast the previous night, but I had my doubts. It was to be my third encounter with the Dundee Stars this season and they had been less than impressive on the first two occasions. But with a play-off place at stake and a sizeable group of travelling fans in tow, it had the potential to surpass their prior efforts to impress me, so I kept an open mind.
I had barely made myself comfortable before the first goal had been scored, and it seemed neither had Stars netminder Chris Whitley (as in Bay – Simmsey, take note!) as Brock McPherson netted within two minutes to give the Clan an immediate advantage. I wondered for a moment if this would be a rout, like the last time I had seen these two sides square off. The thought was barely formed before it was swiftly dismissed: Dundee equalised. Jaakko Suomalainen was caught napping by Mark Kolanos, and despite kicking out a foot it was too late. 1-1. I rubbed my hands together at the prospect of a potential goal-fest. And I wasn’t disappointed. Still with less than 10 minutes on the clock the home side scored again, Whitley making a decent save but unable to repeat the feat on the rebound, Mike Bayrack with a clinical finish to make it 2-1. At that point Clan looked the stronger of the two sides, with more about them going forward, but the pendulum of fortune was once again to swing the way of the Stars, Jeff Hutchins poaching a goal from a Jarrett Konkle pass from behind the net. 2-2.
Jarrett Konkle. My current favourite Elite League player name. Konkle. Say it out loud. Don’t be afraid. It will make your mouth happy.
Anyway! Moving swiftly on…
Undeterred, the Clan continued to press. Jade Galbraith fluffed a breakaway solo effort, and on the powerplay Bayrack was unlucky not to improve his side’s lead after a stinging shot was dealt with confidently by Whitley. It was a fruitless powerplay, the Clan unable to convert any chances, their attractive passing build-up play no more than just that, and we reverted to 5-on-5, the game opening up, the action end to end. In the dying seconds of the first period Jade Galbraith picked up the puck and tore away down the centre, passed out left to James Jorgensen who made no mistake; Whitley had no chance, and the Clan went into the break with the slenderest of advantages.
The atmosphere and indeed the game itself belied the 5-goal scoreline; it was strangely flat. The travelling Vipers got a shout out from the Braehead announcer which was jolly nice. The second period began and the Clan were quickly back in business, not wasting their time in scoring a fourth, the incendiary line of McPherson, Bayrack and Mike Wirll combining once again – I’d love to tell you what happened but sadly Brock McPherson’s sizeable frame was blocking my view of the net. It was a goal, anyway.
The game seemed to lose any remaining fizz after that. This was a sparkle-free zone. Dundee had a powerplay but there was nothing doing. Some time passed. At this point, the scoreline exactly matched my prediction – I was gunning for two from two but as that would have meant no more goals I was somewhat torn. Meanwhile, Dan McGoff was having a good period for Dundee, a sparky and forward-thinking defenceman who brought some much-needed life to the ranks. However it was to no avail; Braehead washed over Dundee in wave after wave of sustained attack that could only end in one way – a fifth goal, bringing up Mike Bayrack’s hat-trick, and surely the end of Dundee’s chances of taking anything away from the game.
Into the third period and it was becoming clear that not all of the Stars players were on the same page. There were a few still trying but as in Sheffield a couple of weeks ago, most seemed all too content to accept defeat. The Clan’s top two lines continued to look threatening but with a three goal cushion there was less incentive to exert themselves and the game died a death, even a 5-on-3 opportunity proving unsuccessful for the home side who had entered cruise control. However, halfway through the third period they were forced to wake up again as Konkle picked out a spot in the top corner and fired home cleanly to bring the margin back to two.
Could there be a twist at the end of a rather drab tale? The Stars pulled their netminder and for the final minute and a half the intensity ramped up, the Clan suddenly under pressure. The crowd were stunned – finally some pulsating action. It had only taken 58 and a half minutes. Another goal came from the stick of AJ Maclean with 4.9 seconds left on the clock, but the time out wasn’t enough to inspire the visitors to a last gasp equaliser and the game was over.
Some questions needed answering. Why had a game with 9 goals not been more exciting? Why did the Clan not win by a far more convincing margin? Why can Dundee not put together a full 60 minutes? Was Mike Bayrack the signing of the season? Was he in fact an even bigger coup than Jade Galbraith? And could Mike Wirll potentially grow a beard of Mike Prpich proportions? All signs point to yes.
Conclusion
Things learned: the Vipers live! In spirit if not in flesh. A great weekend was had by all. I re-discovered my love for live action photography. Friday’s game was a whole world better than Saturdays. I kept almost all of my promises (sorry, I still can’t help dancing during stoppages). I am pretty amazing at predicting scorelines, half the time. Braehead is my favourite rink of any I’ve been to so far, and the fans and organisation are fantastic. And Dundee and I are so over. Three chances to impress me have gone begging, and I can no longer give them the benefit of the doubt and call a poor performance ‘an off day’. They are missing something.
I’m no expert of course, but I will speculate nonetheless. A combination of carrying too many passengers and missing the mark with their coaching choices has to cover it. Despite a couple of handy imports they lack depth, and the appointment of Brent Hughes to the coaching role left vacant by Dan Ceman clearly hasn’t had the impact that they would have hoped. There’s a distinct lack of fight in the ranks; they seem content to lay down and submit to a beating – then a flash of brilliance will galvanise them and they rally – but too little too late. This afternoon’s breaking news was that they will trade Lee Mitchell for Braehead’s Kyle Bruce; I feel this may help the collective attitude problem they seem to be up against, as Bruce is a fiery, full-on character who should bring some much-needed oomph to the dressing room.
On the positive side Konkle, Kolanos and McGoff are talented and committed, and Chris Whitley is a good netminder who, with a better support system in front of him, could be even better. He reminds me of Charlie Effinger, Vipers’ heroic netminder of last season, the unique psyche of a netminder easily recognisable in Whitley’s seemingly schizophrenic nature, self-deprecating and self-motivating in equal measure, he prowls back and forth psyching himself up, and seems to take every opposition goal to heart. Most importantly, he really seems to care about winning, and Brent Hughes could do with harnessing a little of that will to win if his side have any hope of challenging for the final play-off spot. I hope it comes together for them.
So – that’s a lot of words from me in a short space of time! My next fix of live action is in three weeks time; I will return in the meantime to spout forth my opinion on all things Elite League. Because you just can’t get enough of me, can you. TTFN my lovelies!
