Braehead Clan 6 - Dundee Stars 0
The Clan made a magnificent return the Braehead Arena with a comprehensive 6 goal whitewash of Dundee Stars.
Goals from Jordan Krestanovich, Vince Connon, Jimmy Jorgensen, Adam Walker and Ryan Campbell, as well as a debut shut out for Jaakko Suomalainen, meant that the Clan's new season was opened in style. The new look squad took to the ice in forn of just over 2500 of Bannister's Purple Army, and the treated the fans to a competent display of hockey.
Decked out in this season's new white home kit, the new players were introduced to the crowd to cheers along side first season returnees such as Kyle Bruce, Tim Wedderburn and Captain Krestanovich. With the franchise's debut season a relative success under Bruce Richardson, Drew Bannister knew that the bar for this season would be set high, one of the first things needing doing would be to start the season with a bang.
After a cagey opening, Clan clicked in to gear as Connon scooped the puck past Whitley on 8:40. It was a deserved lead and one that the home crowd raised the roof for. Key to continued success this season was the retention of former Colorado Avalanche forward Jordan Krestanovich, and he started this season as he ended last with a clinical second goal of the night. Picking up a loose puck around centre ice, he drove down the right hand side before blasting high beyond the Stars nettie at 16:58.
The second period was played much more defensively by Bannister's charges, almost as if to see what Clan's new number 1 Suomalainen could bring to the table. The Finn had an impressive period, keeping out all comers with a string of glove, stick and pad stops. "Sumo" had a great debut, which his team mates built upon in the 3rd.
Krestanovich got his second of the night 5 minutes in to the 3rd, with Jorgensen netting off the back pipe for a debut goal less than a minute later. the blades had come off Dundee and their puck retention got poorer and poorer as the game continued, which didn't do much to stop the waves of Clan attack.
The final goals were scored by a pair of players who chose to return to The Clan for Season 2. Adam Walker's strike forced Dundee to bring in McGill for the defenceless Whitley, and his first task was to pick the 6th goal of the night, from Ryan Campbell out of his net.
It was an emphatic, confident and professional performance from both the old and the new guys. Jade Galbraith played his part with 2 assists, while Matty Haywood showed his tough side with a few spells in the box, as did Coach Bannister. Jorgensen and the behemoth that is Brock McPherson made astute debuts, with the latter striking the post with a great strike.
The game ended 6-0 to Braehead with Krestanovich pipping Suomalainen to the MVP award. Stars minder Whitley picked up his side's gong, giving the small Dundee crowd who had travelled down something to cheer. The performance bodes well for the season, and the crowd can look forward to another exciting season at Braehead Arena, with Cardiff visiting next Saturday night.
No comments:
Post a Comment