Manchester Storm made it back-to-back wins in emphatic fashion on Friday night, dismantling Dundee Stars 5-1 at Planet Ice Altrincham to send a clear message to the rest of the EIHL. Brady Gilmour scored twice and set up a third, while a three-goal burst midway through the second period put the game beyond any doubt well before the final buzzer.
For Dundee, it is becoming a painful week. This was their second 5-1 defeat in three days, having shipped the same scoreline to Nottingham Panthers on Wednesday. Four losses in five is a run of form that will demand attention.
Gilmour gets storm off the mark
The opening period was cagey but Manchester drew first blood. Brady Gilmour opened his account at 9:53, finishing from Tyler Hinam and Brandon Cutler, to give the home side a 1-0 lead after twenty minutes that felt fully deserved.
Dundee struggled for rhythm throughout the first period, picking up two penalties — Bradley Schoonbaert for slashing and Kris Inglis for delay of game — while Manchester's own Loren Ulett was also sent to the box for slashing at 12:29. The Stars were unable to capitalise on any of it, and went into the first break already on the back foot.
The second period was where this match was decided, and it happened in extraordinary fashion.
Hinam doubled the lead at 31:56 — assisted by Gilmour, the pair combining again to devastating effect — and within eleven seconds Nick Welsh made it 3-0, finishing from Joseph Nardi and J.D. Dudek. Dundee called an immediate timeout to stop the bleeding, but within two minutes it got worse. Loren Ulett converted on the power play at 33:58 — Busby and Ergang with the assists — after Manchester had been penalised for too many men on the ice at 38:39, a bench minor that Dundee converted through Kameron Kielly at 39:45 to make it 4-1. Three goals in two minutes, a consolation power play goal — the second period had everything.
By the second intermission, Storm led 4-1 and the contest was over as a competition.
The third period was largely a formality, though there were still moments of edge. Dundee's Benjamin Almquist was penalised for slashing at 49:49, and a late flare-up at 58:58 saw both Connor Lee for Manchester and Kameron Kielly for Dundee penalised for roughing simultaneously — the frustrations of the Stars boiling over in the closing minutes.
Gilmour had the final word on a personal level, completing his two-goal evening at 53:59 with his second of the night from Cutler and Hinam. Fitting that the same combination that started proceedings finished them. Drew DeRidder was largely untroubled in the Storm goal, while Jarrett Fiske had a difficult evening between the pipes for Dundee facing a relentless Manchester attack.
The gigger picture
Manchester Storm are building genuine momentum — a win and a shootout win in their last two games coming into Friday, and now this. Playing in front of their own fans, with Gilmour and Hinam combining as a partnership with real potency, they look dangerous.
Dundee, meanwhile, face some serious questions. Conceding five goals on back-to-back nights against two different opponents is a problem that goes beyond individual performances. The Stars' penalty discipline also cost them — six penalties conceded on the night gave Manchester repeated opportunities to build pressure.