Picture by Richard Wiseman
This weekend saw thrilling action across the Scottish National League (SNL), with two double-headers and some exciting matchups.
Saturday
Dundee Rockets 4 – Kirkcaldy Kestrels 2
Dundee Rockets and Kirkcaldy Kestrels clashed in a tightly fought game. Sean Beattie put the Rockets ahead in the first period, but Kestrels equalised in the second through Allan Anderson. The third period saw a back-and-forth battle, with Scott Jamieson leveling the score for the Kestrels after an early Rockets goal. However, two late goals from the Rockets, including a last-minute effort from John Gordon, secured a 4-2 win.
Rockets coach Jeff Hitchins reflected on the game and his team’s early season form:
“For the first two games, I think we are progressing. We’re making a lot of errors, but that comes with not having much game time. It’s a learning process. For me, it’s about getting to know a lot of new faces, while for them, it’s about adapting to a new voice, a new coach, and new systems. Overall, we’re progressing as expected. I think we still have a lot of work to do. The expectation is that we’re going to challenge for trophies this year. And if we’re going to do that, we need to keep moving forward and improving every week.”
“Looking ahead to their upcoming matches, Hitchins added: “It’s back-to-back games this weekend—a tough one up in Aberdeen, and then we have to go to Paisley the next night. For us, it’s about trying to pick up points where we can, but certainly, going into Aberdeen, it would be great to pull two points out of there and claw back some ground in the standings against them.”
Aberdeen Lynx 9 – North Ayrshire Wild 1
Aberdeen Lynx delivered a commanding performance against North Ayrshire Wild, starting with a dominant first period. Lynx forward Brant Saretsky bagged a hat-trick, leading to a 5-0 lead by the end of the period. Early in the second, Saretsky struck again before North Ayrshire’s Lewis McCrindle capitalised on a power play to get Wild on the scoreboard. Despite a goalie change for Wild, bringing in Evan McTaggart, Aberdeen continued to pile on the pressure, with Kyle Ferguson and Jamie Edmonds each netting goals. A late power-play goal sealed a decisive 9-1 victory for the Lynx.
Sunday
Paisley Pirates 2 – Aberdeen Lynx 3
Fresh off their win on Saturday, Aberdeen Lynx traveled west to face Paisley Pirates. The first period was closely contested, with Paisley’s Chris Wilson opening the scoring to the delight of the home crowd. In the second period, the Lynx turned up the heat, netting three quick goals—Zac Thomson, just 15 years old, scored his first SNL goal, followed by goals from Jack Hutton and Toby Reynolds. Though Wilson narrowed the gap with a power-play goal in the third, the Pirates couldn’t find another way past Lynx netminder Dominick Jaglar, and Aberdeen held on for a 3-2 win.
Kirkcaldy Kestrels 11 – Kilmarnock Thunder 1
Kirkcaldy Kestrels put in a dominant performance against Kilmarnock Thunder at Fife Ice Arena. Despite a strong effort from Thunder’s netminder Harry Campbell, who kept the scoreline tight early on, the Kestrels broke through and Conner McNulty quickly responded for Thunder. The second period saw the Kestrels overwhelm the visitors, scoring six goals, including two from Finley King. The final period continued in the same vein, with the Kestrels adding four more to end the game with an 11-1 victory, earning them a crucial two points.
League Table:
Aberdeen Lynx’s four-point weekend propels them to the top of the table with 10 points, four ahead of Kirkcaldy Kestrels, who move into second place. Edinburgh Capitals drop to third after a weekend off, while Dundee Rockets climb to fourth following their win over Kestrels. Paisley Pirates and North Ayrshire Wild each drop a place, with Kilmarnock Thunder remaining at the bottom. Next weekend’s double-headers for the Pirates and Rockets could shake things up once again.
