Kirkcaldy Kestrels coach Steven King believes the competitiveness of the SNL is a good thing for his young players coming through.

The Fife side are off to Braehead Arena on Sunday to take on Paisley Pirates, on a three-game winning streak that saw them soar up the table.

So, it’s a second versus third clash as both teams aim to catch Aberdeen Lynx at the top of the table and despite recent results, King is upbeat.

“We lost on penalty shots to Kilmarnock Thunder last week and in hindsight, it’s not a result I’m too disappointed about,” he said.

“It was a good battle in there to lose the game like that, it’s the way it goes sometimes and there will be teams who will go there and find it’s not as easy as it’s been in the past.

“It’s been a rollercoaster for us in the last two or three games and we’ve run into a couple of teams where we’ve dropped.

“But the league is just so competitive right now and teams will take points off each other so it’s great for the SNL and every team is battling hard and winning points.

“It’s a good learning curve for our young players coming through from the juniors, that every game is a battle and that’s the way it should be.

“We’re looking to have a couple of guys back for the Paisley game and we’ve been carrying some injuries in recent weeks. That’s no excuse and hopefully we can get the result we’re looking for on Sunday.”

While Kestrels have lost their last four, they’ve taken single points from three of those games and face a Pirates side fresh from their 7-5 success against Lynx which pulled them to within a point of the North East side in the table.

The league leaders will have to concentrate on their own endeavours on Sunday when they head to Tayside where they’ll take on Dundee Comets.

The prospect of double points will be huge for Lynx as they have the chance to increase their lead at the top if they defeat Richard Hartmann’s side, who are back in action after three weeks off.

Saturday’s only game sees Dundee Tigers, themselves back after a three-week break, host Kilmarnock Thunder with double points up for grabs in this one.

Thunder lost 8-4 to Tigers on the opening day, but confidence will be high on the back of their double victories over Kirkcaldy Kestrels in the last couple of weeks.

Kilmarnock could see themselves level on points with leaders Aberdeen on Saturday night, if they win against Tigers, who themselves would go top if they claim victory against their Ayrshire opponents.

FIXTURES

Saturday

Dundee Tigers v Kilmarnock Thunder (7pm)

Sunday

Paisley Pirates v Kirkcaldy Kestrels (5pm)
Dundee Comets v Aberdeen Lynx (5.30pm)