The Scottish National League heads into its third weekend of the season with five games across Saturday and Sunday, including two teams facing a double-header.

With the opening games now behind us, there is still far too little hockey played to draw any firm conclusions, but this weekend should give another indication of how teams are beginning to settle into the new season.

Saturday gets underway at Auchenharvie as North Ayrshire Wild welcome Kilmarnock Thunder.

It will be Wild’s fourth game of the season and only Thunder’s second, but the first meeting between the two sides this campaign. Both have faced some difficult opposition in their opening fixtures, so this could offer a different type of challenge for each.

Wild have had to contend with short benches, particularly on the road, and will be hoping home ice brings a fuller roster. They also have the benefit of three competitive games already behind them.

Kilmarnock, meanwhile, are still at the very beginning of their campaign. After a difficult season last year, Thunder will be keen to get some points on the board early this time around.

With both sides still looking to get their season moving, Saturday’s meeting could be a closely contested one.

Saturday’s other game brings a north-east clash as Dundee Rockets host Aberdeen Lynx at Dundee Ice Arena.

It will be only the Rockets’ second league game and their first at home after opening the campaign with a convincing win over North Ayrshire Wild.

Dundee have plenty of depth within their squad and will be looking to make full use of home ice as they chase another two points.

Aberdeen arrive following a difficult defeat to Edinburgh Capitals last weekend. The Lynx have a younger squad this season, with a number of players continuing to establish themselves at SNL level, and Saturday gives them another demanding early test.

Games between the two sides have traditionally produced plenty of pace and physicality. Aberdeen have often looked comfortable on the larger Dundee ice pad, but against a Rockets side capable of rolling plenty of depth, maintaining their intensity both physically and mentally across the full game will be important.

Dundee are back in action less than 24 hours later when they make the trip to Dumfries to face Solway Sharks SNL on Sunday.

Solway have already played three home games this season, recording a comfortable win over North Ayrshire Wild. but suffering defeats against Paisley Pirates and Whitley Warriors.

Rockets will arrive with Saturday night’s game against Aberdeen in their legs, but they have the squad depth to deal with the demands of a double-header.

When these sides met last season, Dundee came out on top comfortably. Solway are now into their second SNL season and have had more time to build and develop their squad, so Sunday will be an interesting measure of how they match up against the Rockets this time around.

Kilmarnock Thunder also face a second game of the weekend on Sunday, with Edinburgh Capitals providing the opposition at Murrayfield.

Although officially a Thunder home fixture, the game will be played in Edinburgh because of the extended maintenance work at the Galleon Centre.

It presents a significant challenge for the Kilmarnock side. They will be playing their second game in two nights, on a large ice surface, against one of the most experienced squads in the league.

Edinburgh made an emphatic start to their league season last weekend with a convincing victory in Aberdeen and will be looking to build on that performance.

Thunder will need to stay disciplined, manage the bigger ice and maintain their work rate across the full 60 minutes if they are to make life difficult for the Capitals.

The weekend finishes at Fife Ice Arena as Kirkcaldy Kestrels welcome Whitley Warriors.

Kestrels produced one of the closest games of last weekend in their season opener against Paisley Pirates, staying in the contest throughout before eventually losing by a single goal.

Sunday gives Kirkcaldy another opportunity on home ice, but they face a Warriors side that has made a strong start to the campaign.

Whitley have won both of their opening games and head into the weekend with maximum points.

Kestrels showed last weekend that they can stay in a tight game and keep pushing right to the finish, while Warriors have started the season strongly at both ends of the ice.

With two double-headers and several sides looking either to build on their opening results or get points on the board, there should be plenty to follow across another busy SNL weekend.