Aberdeen Lynx player-coach Jordan Leyden says Saturday’s 14-2 Scottish Cup win over Kilmarnock Thunder gives them a confidence boost.

The SNL leaders moved into the semi-finals with a comfortable victory which gets them ready for Sunday’s big game against Edinburgh Capitals at Murrayfield.

And Leyden was pleased at how his team kept going despite being comfortable winners in a game that Kilmarnock would probably like to forget.

“The weekend was a really good win for us and an emphatic one,” Leyden said. “I was really pleased with the guys and they didn’t take their foot off the gas.

“They struck to the game plan and kept things simple and while it was good to get on the scoresheet myself, it was good for the others to do so as well.

“We were maybe needing a little boost of confidence and we certainly got that with this result and it helps with a big game this weekend.”

Despite Ewan Anderson’s opening goal inside the first minute and a half, Lynx were never going to let that stand and promptly grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck.

By the end of the first, Aberdeen had romped into a 6-1 lead then ended the second 11-1 up, which showed Thunder had no answer for their rampant opponents.

Hat-tricks from Leyden and James DeMeo, along with doubles from Kyle MacPhail and Owen Michie made it a great night for Lynx.

Joining them in the last four is Paisley Pirates, who needed penalty shots to get past Dundee Tigers in a close game at Braehead Arena on Sunday.

Garry Simpson’s opening goal was cancelled out by Jack Henderson in the first before Gary Parker edged the Pirates in front again.

Paul Guilcher pulled the Tigers level in the second period but there was no further breakthrough until the game went to penalty shots, where Mikey Dobson settled the tie.

Kirkcaldy Kestrels and Edinburgh Capitals also contested something of a thriller, with both sides sharing 11 goals, with Kestrels scoring six of them.

Capitals were 2-1 up after the first as Joe Lynch and Alex Christian scored either side of Jamie Crawford’s powerplay finish.

A Scott Jamieson hat-trick put Kirkcaldy 4-2 ahead, but Edinburgh hit back through Chad Smith and Christian, with this second to level before edging in front in the third courtesy of Andrey Ogloblin.

Kestels managed to turn it around as Conor Duncan netted twice to turn the game around and confirm a path into the semi-finals to complete the line-up.

The weekend’s only SNL game saw Dundee Comets move up to third place as they saw off North Ayrshire Wild in a 7-2 win.

Dylan Murray’s opening goal for Wild was soon cancelled out Darren Donaldson and Comets were 3-1 ahead by the end of the second as Ben Brown and Iain Bowie found the net.

Richard Hartmann’s men continued where they left off as Lewis Neave and Sean Beattie scored goals four and five and although North Ayrshire’s Jack Forsyth pulled one back, Comets weren’t done.

Donaldson and Brown each picked up their second markers of the night to confirm victory and clinched the four points to move them just behind city rivals Dundee Tigers in the standings.

RESULTS

Saturday

Scottish Cup

Aberdeen Lynx 14 Kilmarnock Thunder 2

Sunday

SNL

Dundee Comets 7 North Ayrshire Wild 2

Scottish Cup

Paisley Pirates 3 Dundee Tigers 2 (After penalty shots)

Kirkcaldy Kestrels 6 Edinburgh Capitals 5