Picture by Richard Wiseman
This weekend saw two crucial group stage playoff clashes as teams battled for a place at the Playoff Finals Weekend in Dundee, coming up on April 19th and 20th. With places in the semifinals on the line, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Saturday night featured the second leg of the Group A showdown between Dundee Rockets and Aberdeen Lynx. The Rockets came into the game with the advantage, having won the first leg—and they wasted no time in building on that momentum.
Dundee Rockets Punch Their Ticket to the Finals
The opening period was a rough one for the Lynx, who found themselves on the back foot and were hampered by early penalties. Dundee capitalised in style, netting four goals—two of them on the powerplay—as they dominated the first 20 minutes.
The Lynx responded in the second, showing more form with a goal from Aaron Thomson. But Rockets’ Rio Page quickly answered back to maintain the home side’s grip on the game.
The third period turned into an end-to-end battle. Lewis Neave struck early for Rockets, and Sean Dyer and Brant Saretsky found the net in quick succession around the 54-minute mark for the Lynx. However, Rockets’ Michel Beca sealed the win with a late goal in the final minute, bringing the final score to 7-3.
With the win, the Dundee Rockets secured their spot in the semifinals and will be back at the Dundee Ice Arena for Playoff Weekend in April.
Capitals Take Control in Group B First Leg
Over in Group B, Edinburgh Capitals travelled west to face North Ayrshire Wild at Auchenharvie in the first leg of their playoff matchup.
It was always going to be a tough ask for the young Wild side, but they put in a disciplined performance, keeping penalty minutes low and denying the Capitals any success on the powerplay.
Edinburgh’s Chad Smith opened the scoring with two goals in the first period, putting the visitors in control early. Joel Gautschi added another in the second and capped off the night with his second goal just five minutes before the final buzzer.
Despite the 4-0 shutout, Wild netminder Caiden MacColl impressed between the pipes, making several key saves to keep his side in contention ahead of the second leg.
With just one more spot left to fill for the Playoff Weekend, all eyes now turn to the remaining group stage matches. The race to Dundee is well and truly on.
