Two point weekend for Stars
The senior stars came out of the weekends action with 2 of a possible 4 points.
Armagh Stars 4:3 ECL
After a 7 week wait from the last set of games the seniors were back in action this weekend with a double header vs East Coast Lighting and the Belfast Bruins. 9am face off for game one, saw an early departure from Armagh for all involved.
First up was Scottish side East Coast Lightning. In the team’s previous two meetings last season, the Lightning had recorded two wins. Both teams started with a high tempo and both goalies made good saves early on to keep the game scoreless. The Stars opened the scoring in the 13th minute through Jaroslav Keri on the powerplay.
H/T 1:0
Early in the second the Stars got their 2nd powerplay of the game, and kept the pressure low in the lightning end Lynch and Olas cycling the puck well to create openings. With only 15 seconds left in the penalty David Vakler scored a wrist shot high glove from the slot to give the Stars a 2:0 lead. A few minutes later the Stars increased their lead, Jaroslav Keri getting his second of the game picking up a lose puck on a broken play.
With a 3:0 lead the Stars began to slow down, and began to get outworked by their Scottish rivals. ECL began to put pressure on the Stars net, with Kornel Szabo outstanding in nets.
The break through came for ECL when Kevin Kerr scored from the slot after 27 minutes. 3 undisciplined penalties in the space of six minutes by the Stars opened the door further for ECL who took full advantage tying the game up with two powerplay goals, including a 4 on 2 powerplay goal.
ECL had all the momentum but with Szabo in stunning form between the pipes, the Stars still had a chance to win the game. To the team’s credit they lifted their game in the last five minutes and began to work hard again, the winning goal came 20 seconds from the end Martin Olas found himself in the slot with time and made no mistake with a quick release high glove.
This was a great result for the team, but much has to be learnt from this game to keep moving forward.
Armagh Stars 2:6 Belfast Bruins
Game two of the day saw the Stars take on the reigning league champions Belfast Bruins. The two teams met on the opening day of the season with the game ending in a 4:4 tie. The Bruins clearly were up for this game bringing in former Belfast Giant goalie Hugh Smyth to guard their net.
The Bruins started the better and quickly forced Szabo into action in the Stars goal. In the fifth minute the Bruins took the lead through Stevie Adams. Two minutes later Adams got his second of the game to give the Bruins a 2:0 lead. A fire alarm interrupted the game in the 12th minute with both teams having to leave the building until the fire brigade gave the all clear to re enter. After a brief warm up both teams got back ar it, and both created chances.
With less than two minutes left in the 1st Gareth Martin found the back of the Stars net to give the Bruins a 3:0 lead at the half way point of the game.
H/T 0:3
The Stars started the second half better and got one goal back early on. David Vakler with his second goal of the day on the backhand. The Bruins were putting the Stars under lots of pressure and despite Szabo make outstanding saves the Bruins got their fourth goal in the 25th minute. An illegal equipment check on the Bruins goalie then gave the Stars a powerplay opportunity to try get back into the game.
The Stars did manage to create chances on the powerplay but found Hugh Smyth in superb form in the Bruins net. With 7 minutes remaining in the game Gareth Roberts killed the game with two goals in a few minutes to give the Bruins a 6:1 lead. The Stars did get a second through Stephen Lynch but it was merely a consolation goal.
So it wasn’t to be for the team vs the Bruins today, but haven taken 3 points off last seasons top two teams in their first 4 games of the season is a decent start for the team, who will be geared up for two more games next Sunday to finish 2009 on a high.
