SCOTLAND, UK – Last weekend was a mixed bag for Braehead Clan as they returned to Glasgow with a win and a loss from Manchester.
Braehead came out with a 4-3 victory on Saturday night against Storm, but fell to a disappointing 5-2 loss a day later at Altrincham Ice Rink. Ex-Clan coach Ryan Finnerty ended the weekend on winning terms after the Canadian swapped Glasgow for Manchester at the end of last season.
It was an entertaining first fixture on Saturday and Storm got on the scoresheet first, but Clan equalised early in the second through Craig Peacock.
Photo courtesy of Carol-Ann Jardine
The second period ended 2-2, however the home team took the lead in the third before Braehead drew level again. Robert Lepine scored the winning goal after diverting the puck past Storm netminder Mike Clemente.
Since the turn of the year Clan have not been in great form and have only won two fixtures out of their 10 January games. They find themselves languishing eighth in the Elite Ice Hockey League table having played 40 games so far.
For Clan match highlights click here.
It’s been a poor season for the Clan judged against their last three campaigns and their title push seems a long time ago.
Season ticket holder George Houston said: “I think at the start of this season we played poor, but now since Christmas we seemed to have turned a corner. I think the problem from last year is that a lot of our older players have left now.
“We’ve had to bring new players in and there’s always going to be a problem to get them to mix well. Hopefully this time next year if we manage to keep the same squad of players we can be fighting at the top of the table.”
At the other end of the table Fife Flyers are flying high in third and enjoying one of their best seasons to date. They had a mixed weekend, suffering a 4-3 away defeat on Saturday at the hands of Dundee Stars before bouncing back with a 3-2 home win against Nottingham Panthers.
Neither side could break the deadlock in the first period, but the Panthers finally went ahead in the 37th minute to save a goalless second period.
The Flyers got themselves back on track in the third with two goals from Evan Bloodoff, but the visitors levelled again. However, with three minutes left on the clock Iain Young bagged the winner for Fife to end a four game losing streak.
Staying on the east coast, Edinburgh Capitals had another miserable weekend losing twice on home ice.
The first defeat was at the hands of Guildford Flames and this was followed by a 6-3 loss against Dundee Stars.
These two results leave the Edinburgh-based team still firmly sat at the foot of the table with eight wins and nine points after 34 fixtures.
Dundee had a successful weekend with vital victories over Scottish opposition, beating Fife 4-3 as well as the victory in Edinburgh. The Stars are currently ninth in the table, one point behind Braehead with three games in hand.
Here are the full results from Scottish Elite League clubs:
Saturday
Dundee Stars 4-3 Fife Flyers (OT)
Edinburgh Capitals 2-4 Guildford Flames
Manchester Storm 3-4 Braehead Clan
Sunday
Edinburgh Capitals 3-6 Dundee Stars
Fife Flyers 3-2 Nottingham Panthers
Manchester Storm 5-2 Braehead Clan
For the full league table click here.
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