PREVIEW: Lynch hoping for big night as Caps come home

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Edinburgh Capitals coach Steven Lynch wants to see a big crowd return to Murrayfield as they prepare for their first home game there since 2018.

The Caps make their long-awaited return home to face league leaders Aberdeen Lynx on Sunday, but after they’ve played North Ayrshire Wild at Auchenharvie on Saturday.

And on the back of their Scottish Cup elimination at the hands of Kirkcaldy Kestrels, Lynch is looking for a reaction.

“The guys admitted they weren’t happy with the performance in Kirkcaldy on Sunday so they’ve wanted to do extra skating to boost their fitness this week to help with the games coming up,” he said.

“The reaction in training has been great and I’m expecting a reaction on Saturday in the game as well.

“But Sunday is a really big game for us, being back at home and we want to put on a show for the fans, who have been starved of hockey here for years.

“We’ve been nomads for the last couple of months and the guys are definitely looking forward to playing in front of their own.  We hope there’s a big crowd here on Sunday to see them.”

The Capitals are third bottom, but are playing catch up, with five games on the board and six points so far as they continue their return to hockey.

But they do come up against a team in Wild with only one victory to their name so far in their nine outings so far so Lynch’s men should be the favourites.

Then it’s back home to Murrayfield where they’ll take on Lynx, who have been buoyed by their 14-2 Scottish Cup win over Kilmarnock Thunder on Saturday.

It’s as tough a game as the Caps could have asked for ahead of their big homecoming, so there could be quite the occasion in Edinburgh, especially if the Caps were to take the points.

Dundee Tigers won in overtime when they last faced Kirkcaldy Kestrels (PHOTO: Derek Young)

Elsewhere, Thunder are back home after that heavy defeat in Aberdeen last week, where they’ll take on Paisley Pirates as they look to get back on track.

Since their back-to-back wins over Kirkcaldy, Kilmarnock have suffered two damaging losses and with Paisley having that winning feeling from their Scottish Cup tie against Dundee Tigers, it could be interesting game at The Galleon.

Pirates will fancy victory here and would set them up for when Thunder make their way to Braehead Arena next week for the rematch.

Sunday’s other game sees Tigers take on Kirkcaldy and with the incentive of four points up for grabs for both teams, it sets the scene on what could be an extraordinary battle on Tayside.

Tigers got into the weekend a point ahead of their Fife rivals, but the landscape could be much different one way or the other by Sunday evening.

They needed overtime when the teams played out a 5-4 thriller, with the Tayside club taking the extra point so another closely fought affair could be in order in what promises to be quite the weekend of action ahead.

FIXTURES

Saturday

Kilmarnock Thunder v Paisley Pirates (5.30pm)

North Ayrshire Wild v Edinburgh Capitals (6.30pm)

Sunday

Edinburgh Capitals v Aberdeen Lynx (6pm)

Dundee Tigers v Kirkcaldy Kestrels (6pm)