Kilmarnock Thunder 2 Paisley Pirates 9

Pirates got their league campaign off to the best possible start with a comfortable win in Ayrshire. Both teams had their warm up period interrupted by a fire alarm, which saw them standing outside the ice rink in full kit, but it was the home team for whom the bells tolled as they found themselves FOUR goals down with under half the opening period played.

The visitors were ahead with less than two minutes on the clock through Guy, and went two in front within minutes as Wilson netted his first goal for the club. A quick fire double within half a minute through Huber and Divok had Pirates four ahead by the 9th minute, and while the free scoring slowed down a little they still had time to net a fifth, through Henderson, to have the points in the bag by the first buzzer, holding a comfortable lead at 5-0.

The home side did come into the game a little more at the beginning of the second period and managed to pull a goal back after 26 minutes through McCormack, but Anderson in the home goal continued to be the busier netminder by far and he was beaten twice more, first by Henderson for his second goal of the night, then skipper Chris Turley, to take the scoreline to 7-1 after 40 minutes.

Pirates took the score to 8-1 within five minutes of the restart through Sarginson, and while Thunder did manage another consolation score through Murdoch, it was the visitors who finished off the scoring through Turley’s second goal of the night with 5 minutes remaining, to round off a satisfactory start to their league programme.

Paisley Pirates   5 Dundee Tigers   2

Pirates won their second match in 24 hours comfortably enough without ever finding top gear, as they saw off a plucky Dundee Tigers outfit to make it a four point weekend.

The home side were first on the board in the 6th minute as Divok converted a pass from Henderson, but they were surprised a minute later as Reekie equalised on the powerplay. Henderson turned goal scorer before the halfway point in the period, but with a lethargic looking Pirates side failing to pass accurately they were unable to advance their lead, going in at the first interval with a narrow 2-1 advantage.

Pirates were looking to increase their lead and put the game to bed, but their passes continued to go astray until they briefly raised their game around the middle of the period and scored three times in six minutes through Henderson, notching his second, a rare goal from Crawford with a neat backhander, and a bullet from Divok which also doubled his tally for the night. Tigers refused to give up, however, and a minute later Pliskov netted their second to give the score a slightly closer appearance at 5-2 after 40 minutes.

In the final session, Pirates continued to push forward but could not re-establish the free flowing movement which they’d managed briefly in the middle session, thus recording a satisfactory, but unspectacular, 5-2 win over the visitors.

They will be looking to raise their game next week when they face their toughest challenge of the season so far, as treble winners Dundee Comets are the visitors to Braehead Arena on Remembrance Sunday (face off 5.00pm)

Remembrance Sunday:

We’ll be admitting free of charge any members of the Armed Forces who come in uniform or produce a valid ID card tp see Pirates v Dundee Comets.

PAISLEY PIRATES-GAME PREVIEW

Paisley Pirates face what is probably their toughest challenge of the season so far as they play host to treble winners Dundee Comets in a mouth-watering league match this Sunday at Braehead Arena. The visitors complete a clean sweep of domestic honours last year, winning the Scottish Cup, the league playoffs, and the SNL title, the latter only by dint of having a better goal difference than the Pirates.

“It’s got all the potential to be another in a whole series of classics between the teams, enthused Off Ice Operations Manager Jackie Turley. “Last year, it was a closely fought 3-3 draw here with some terrific entertainment for the fans, real edge of the seat stuff, while when we went to the Dundee Ice Arena it finished 6-6, with two goals in the last minute, so the game isn’t likely to let anyone down in terms of value for money. They’ve got a lot of fine players, but then, so do we, our goals have been spread throughout the team with no single player taking the headlines.”

She went on, “We’re expecting a larger crowd than usual, as this really is one of the fixtures you look out for every year, so our advice to folk is to get along early and make sure you catch every one of the sixty minutes-if you don’t, you’re likely to miss something!”

“It’s our last home game for a couple of weeks, so we’re advising supporters to get themselves along and catch some of the best ice hockey action they are likely to see anywhere, and have them wishing away the days until the Pirates are back in town again!”

Face off is at 5.00pm and doors open at 4.20pm.