A real kick for Fife Flyers as Dundee Stars hoodoo strikes again for fourth time in league

“A point lost” was Tom Coolen’s assessment - and it was a big point too in the race for a play-off spot.

A crowd of some 2400 packed the rink in Dundee for this big game which saw Shane Owen’s return to the ice of several weeks on the sidelines through injury, and it ended in some controversy with the referees giving the nod to Star’s winner just 46 seconds into overtime after a lengthy review.

The puck came off the back boards went in off Drydn Dow’s skate. The stripeys ruled it wasn’t a deliberate kicking motion - but regardless, the puck ended in the net and ended the game, leaving Fife with just one point for the 2-2 tie after regulation time.

Flyers had a golden chance to make early progress when Brendan Harms sat out a five minute penalty for boarding, but they drew a blank, and that came back to haunt them as Stars took the lead in the dying seconds when a shot from Brent Beaudoin snuck in low at Owen's near post. The game was tied up by the end of the second thanks to Collin Shirley’s powerplay strike sent the puck into the roof of the net, with Harms back in the bin on an interference call at 29:24.

Stars struck early in the third with Josh Brittain firing home a loose puck, but an equaliser from Kyle Osterberg with just six minutes on the clock took this match into overtime.

Just 46 seconds had been played when a shot from Spencer Naas shot went over Owen's net and bounced back into the path of Dow who deflected it into the net. Flyers immediately asked for a review, but after a lengthy assessment, the refs decided the goal could stand.

Cooen said: “It looked like a kicking motion. That was a point lost in the way the goal was given.”