Storm Blown Away by Rampant Tigers

A Scott Marr hat-trick and a Grant Reekie double helped the Dundee Tigers pick up two league points in the west of Scotland on Saturday night as they ran out 11-2 victors over the Kilmarnock Storm.

The opening period was a chippy affair as the Tigers tried to adjust to the short Galleon Centre ice pad and the hosts attempted to assert the home advantage. The tone of the matchup was set early as Tigers Dan Moffat and Storm forward Jardine Wallace face off and found themselves sitting major penalties in just the 6th minute. The ill temper continued and Storm starting netminder Scott Blackwell fell foul of the referee as he was assessed a match penalty for kicking with just over 5 minutes of the period remaining. A further penalty to Storm’s Adam Stuart allowed Tigers the space to open the scoring as Scott Marr tipped in a low shot by Ian Carstairs on the point for the only goal of the period.

With the duck broken Tigers approached the 2nd stanza with a renewed vigour. It took until just the 24th minute for Scott Marr to double both his and the visitors tally. 25 seconds later Grant Reekie extended the visitors lead with a deadly finish beyond Joe Bealing in the home net. The 27th minute saw Reekie turn provider as he set up Stuart Barnett to blast home a 1-timer from the point before Andy Henderson broke through 2 minutes later to notch his first goal for the club as he stretched the roof of the net with Tigers 5th of the match. It took until the 37th minute for Tigers to add their next marker and it was Scott Marr who hit the target for his hat-trick goal, finishing off some impressive interplay. The Storm got themselves off the mark in the same minute though as some confusion in the Tiger defensive zone allowed Adam Stuart time to fire past Matt Landsburgh. The Tigers weren’t finished yet though as Captain Paul Guilcher brought the total to 7-1 with a textbook finish just 23 seconds from the period close.

The Tigers got the final session underway with a man sitting in the penalty box. Not to be deterred the visitors broke up a Kilmarnock attack at the offensive blueline and the puck fell nicely to Kris Phillips who made no mistake as he grabbed Tigers 8th with just 30 seconds played. Next on the scoresheet was Robbie Barnett as he showed the deftest of touches to redirect the puck in to the corner of the net in the 47th minute. Just a minute later Grant Reekie made it double digits for the Tigers as he second of the night set the scoreline at 10-1 in favour of the Big Cats. Dan Topping was rewarded for his efforts with 7 minutes left as his powerful, close range effort found the back of the net before veteran Myles Watson added a consolation goal for the hosts 30 seconds later to conclude the scoring for the night.

Tigers come away from this game as deserved winners but know that they face a number of stern tests as the run in to the playoffs continues.

Final Score: Kilmarnock Storm 2 – Dundee Tigers 11

Tigers MOM: Grant Reekie