Fresh from their Scottish Cup semi-final win against the Kirkcaldy Kestrels, Dundee Comets will be heading to the Braehead arena to take on the Paisley Pirates in a league game on Sunday.

The Comets are 4th in the SNL table with the Pirates close behind in 5th,  both are level on 25 points but the Paisley side have 3 games in hand. 

It’s an important game for both teams as they will be keen to close the gap between them and the top three. 

Dundee Comets Coach, Richard Hartmann, said ahead of this weekend’s fixture, ” It’s a hard place to play, Glasgow. They have played well recently, but we are well prepared for them and if we stick to the system and the game plan we will be absolutely fine. 

It’s the last few games of the season and we’ve been struggling with the lineup.  We’ve had some injuries and it’s been hard for the boys to play so many games. Every team has the same problems with injuries during a long season and we just deal with it. The guys who replace them are more than capable, they just step up.

We’ve been quite short benched, there’s not too many players in Scotland right now that can play at the higher level.  But we are very happy with our junior development programme, as we have a few young players coming through the system and it’s promising for the future.

Proceeding to the Scottish Cup finals is a great achievement for the club and especially for our young team. I have 4 under 18s in our squad, 3 are 16 year olds.  It’s great to have them in there for the experience.  

When we played Fife we were very short, we had to adjust and played just two centre men the whole game, it was quite tough.  But they guys managed and it’s phenomenal to see them working as a team.”

Aberdeen Lynx will be looking for a two point win to regain the position at the top of the league table, after Edinburgh Capitals edged past them by 1 point after a double header last weekend. 

Lynx Coach Jordan Leyden will be hopeful of a win against Kilmarnock Thunder on Saturday, as they have won the three previous games against the Kilmarnock this season. 

But underestimate Thunder at your peril. With wins against Edinburgh Capitals, Dundee Comets and Kirkcaldy Kestrels, they have shown the capability to take on any team in the league. 

The second SNL game on Saturday sees Kirkcaldy Kestrels, who are 6th in the league, play North Ayrshire Wild who are sitting in 8th place. The teams have met twice this season, with the Kestrels bagging the win both times.  

With the end of the season only weeks away and the Playoffs around the corner, Kirkcaldy will be feeling the pressure to progress up the SNL table and close the three point gap between them and the Pirates. 

The young team from North Ayrshire know the capabilities of the the Kestrels.  There is sure to be pressure on their D lines but they will be hoping to turn things around.

WEEKEND FIXTURES

Saturday

• Kirkcaldy Kestrels v North Ayrshire Wild (7.15pm)
• Aberdeen Lynx v Kilmarnock Thunder (7.15pm)

Sunday

• Paisley Pirates v Dundee Comets (5pm)