Edinburgh Capitals coach Steven Lynch says the fans can play their part as his team prepares for a double header weekend against Kirkcaldy Kestrels.

It’s fifth versus sixth when the Forth rivals come together, firstly at Murrayfield on Saturday before doing it all again on Sunday at Fife Ice Arena.

And as the Caps look to climb up the SNL table, they’re hoping for their support to give them that boost to get them up.

“The fans can play their part and they have in the previous games against Whitley Warriors and Dundee Tigers and it’s been great to see so many of them,” Lynch said.

“They were making a lot of noise and we want to keep doing our bit by winning and if they like what they’ll see, they’ll keep coming back.

“These games are massive for us this weekend and they’re right above us in the table.  If we want to climb, these are the games we have to win.

“They will be difficult and with Kirkcaldy coming in on the back of a heavy loss to Paisley last week, they’ll be expecting a reaction to that.

“We’ll have to be at our best in both games, but four points is what we’re looking to take from the games.”

Both sides come in with contrasting results after last week.  While the Caps were scoring nine in a 9-5 result over Dundee Comets, Kestrels suffered their heaviest loss of the season in a 9-1 slump against Paisley Pirates.

Kestrels coach Steven King will be looking for a reaction to that and added former Capitals netminder Craig Holland to his line-up in an attempt to shore up his back line.

The Fife side are two for two against Edinburgh in both league and cup meetings this season, but there’s a sense it could be different as the Caps look to continue the momentum built from their Northern Challenge Cup success a few weeks ago.

Their relative positions in the standings are another motivation as both teams look for form heading into the festive period as well, with Kestrels in particular needing to hit a rhythm.

Elsewhere, there’s an opportunity for Dundee Comets to slide themselves into the title conversation when they host Kilmarnock Thunder looking for the four points on offer on Sunday.

Richard Hartmann’s men took a 9-5 victory in Ayrshire last week and will want to follow that up as they look to go level on points with Aberdeen Lynx, who are inactive this weekend.

Experienced goalie Mark McGill was added to the Comets roster on Friday and the club have revealed he will play in Sunday’s game at Dundee Ice Arena.

One other game to come sees Dundee Tigers looking to strengthen their lead at the top when they head to Braehead Arena to face Paisley Pirates.

The Pirates will be buoyant from their big win in Kirkcaldy last week and have four wins from their last five at home, including a Scottish Cup penalty shots victory over the Tigers in that spell.

On the road may be a slight concern for Tigers, who have lost their last three on their travels despite picking up consolation points in two of those games.

The trip to Paisley may be an uncomfortable one for them, but they have got the memory of winning 4-3 earlier this season to draw inspiration from in what promises to be an entertaining weekend across the league.

WEEKEND FIXTURES

Saturday

Edinburgh Capitals v Kirkcaldy Kestrels (6.30pm)

Sunday

Paisley Pirates v Dundee Tigers (5pm)

Kirkcaldy Kestrels v Edinburgh Capitals (6pm)

Dundee Comets v Kilmarnock Thunder (7pm)