Picture courtesy of Dundee Rockets

It was a monumental weekend in Scottish ice hockey as the Dundee Rockets secured the Scottish National League title in their inaugural season. With a couple of weekends still remaining before the season concludes, the Rockets claimed the championship in front of a home crowd on Saturday, defeating the Edinburgh Capitals 4-1.

From the outset, the Rockets were on a mission, feeding off the energy of their home supporters. Captain Sam McClusky set the tone early, opening the scoring just three minutes and forty seconds into the game. However, the Capitals responded swiftly, with Joel Gautschi netting a power-play goal to level the score. The Rockets regained control before the end of the first period, adding two more goals to take a commanding lead.

The second period saw Ben Brown extend the Rockets’ advantage, scoring their fourth goal of the night. The final period was a back-and-forth contest, but neither side could find the net, securing a well-earned 4-1 victory for the Rockets.

Rockets head coach Jeff Hutchieson reflected on the achievement:

“It was good to get the championship secured and over the line. It was special for the guys.

It’s been a lot of hard work on and off the ice, and everyone within the organization played a part in this championship. We’ve been working toward this from day one and have a really good team, but the one thing that was evident to us from the beginning is that we have depth. Every single person on the team contributed something over the course of the year, and our goal isn’t to stop here. We want to continue in pursuit of winning more trophies this year, and we’re now in a really good spot to do just that.

I’m excited for what’s to come. We’ve put down a solid foundation this year, and the sky’s the limit.”

The Rockets’ celebrations were hampered a little as they were back on the ice on Sunday. Flying high from their league win, they still managed to pull off an overtime victory against the Paisley Pirates.

Jay Herd opened the scoring early for the Pirates, but just minutes later, the Rockets‘ Michel Beca equalised. The second period saw the Rockets ramp up the pressure on Pirates netminder Daniel McGowan, but he stood firm between the pipes.

Towards the end of the third period, Rockets‘ Sean Beattie scored on the power play, but seconds later, Pirates’ Martyn Simpson equalised. It was neck and neck, and as the final buzzer went, the game headed into overtime. However, it wasn’t long before Beattie once again found the back of the net, securing a hard-fought win for the Rockets.

Meanwhile, Kilmarnock Thunder hosted North Ayrshire Wild in a game that saw plenty of penalty minutes. Despite Wild outshooting Thunder 2-1 in the opening period, neither team could break the deadlock. However, the second period was a different story as Wild netted three goals, including two on the power play. They continued to dominate in the third period, with Rocco Murray adding another power-play goal before Dylan Murray scored his second of the evening. Wild secured an emphatic 5-0 victory.

In stark contrast, it was a clean sheet in Aberdeen as neither the Aberdeen Lynx nor Kirkcaldy Kestrels recorded any penalties. The Lynx struck first with captain Brant Saretsky opening the scoring in the first period. The Kestrels responded just before the second-period buzzer, as Conor Duncan equalsed to set up a tense final period. A rapid series of goals from Grant Jamieson, Harris Piotrowicz, and Cole Giannandrea gave the Kestrels the edge, and the Lynx were unable to mount a comeback.

With just a few games remaining, the race for playoff spots is intensifying. Every point matters as teams make their final push for quarter-final positions in what promises to be an electrifying conclusion to the season.