NORTH AYR WILD 4 PAISLEY PIRATES 4

Pirates contrived to let a two goal lead slip in the final minute of their clash with the hosts and, in the process, almost certainly handed top place in the Stuart Robertson Cup West Group to them.

The visitors were quicker out the blocks and were ahead in the 3rd minute as skipper Chris Turley fired past Blackwell to put his side ahead, and they retained that lead to the end of the session.

In the middle period, the pattern was repeated as Pirates defender Dean Hamilton, pushing forward, beat Blackwell again to double the lead and give his side a handy looking 2-0 advantage going into the final 20 minutes.

The home side came out for the final period knowing they needed a quick goal to get back into the game, and they duly got it with less than 4 minutes on the clock as ex-Pirate Scott Cowan netted to make it a one goal game. This sparked a minor goal flurry as Blair restored Pirates’ two goal lead in just over a minute, while another ex-Pirate, Alan Maitland, pulled it back to 3-2 only 50 seconds later.

Pirates looked to have sealed the win in the 52nd minute when Thorp restored the two goal lead, but with barely a minute remaining the roof fell in on the visitors as Maitland scored twice in under 20 seconds to give the home side the draw, there being no further scoring.

PAISLEY PIRATES   12 KILMARNOCK THUNDER   1

Pirates were back in action less than 24 hours later as they face Kilmarnock Thunder in their second West Group fixture of the weekend.

They were ahead in the second minute as Harju was on hand to slip home a pass from Dobson, and further goals followed from Blair and Guy to give a comfortable lead by halfway in the period. In the 18th minute Sami Harju took a bad knock and the Finnish forward had to be helped from the ice, taking no further part in proceedings. There was time left in the session, however, for Jardine Wallace to score his first goal for the club, with Pirates 4-0 up at the end of the period.

Play was stopped early in the 2nd session as confetti was seen to be falling from the Arena ceiling onto the ice, and with a stray bird having somehow got into the ice rink there were several moments of unscheduled entertainment before it could resume. Pirates wasted no time in scoring a 5th through Johnston, only for the visitors to go straight to the other end and deny Donaghy his shut out, as he was defeated by Thunder’s Murdoch. This appeared to spark the home side into retaliation, as in the remainder of the period they scored no fewer than four times through a Guy double, securing his hat trick, Blair, and Andreucci, to take the score to 9-1 by the second break, play being halted again to allow the puck to be removed from a player’s shorts with an appropriate degree of decorum.

With the game well and truly over as a contest, the final session was notable only for a double strike by Johnston, who thus also secured his hat trick, and Guy, taking his personal tally to four, to complete a comprehensive 12-1 win for fhe home side.

Pirates are next in action this coming Sunday (28 October) when they take on Solway Stingrays at Braehead Arena (face off 5.00pm) in their final group match.