MORAY TYPHOONS 1 PAISLEY PIRATES 5

Pirates got the show back on the road with a comprehensive 5-1 at Elgin, on a rink where in recent times they had struggled to get a result.

Minus the injured Miller and Bain, with Meechan and Riddell unavailable through work commitment, Pirates hit the ice quickly and were ahead in under 3 minutes as they took advantage of a powerplay opportunity to go ahead on the postage stamp sized surface through Thorp, assisted by Mark Hassan. The giant forward continued to be a thorn in the flesh to the hosts and just at the halfway point of the period he doubled their trouble, once more on the powerplay, as he again beat Johnstone in the home goal to put Pirates two in front, with assistance from Jordan. The home side did, however, manage to get on the scoreboard with under three minutes of the period remaining, Russell beating Hepburn to halve the deficit to 2-1 as the teams left the ice after 20 minutes.

A determined Pirates outfit was in no mood to allow the home side back into the game and within nine seconds of the restart the lead was back to two as Campbell beat Johnstone, assisted by Guy, in their first attack to give them a little breathing space. The scoreline got even better for Pirates as with less than 9 minutes of the session gone, Wilson scored unassisted, and with Pirates continuing to look the more likelier side, a 4-1 advantage after two sessions left them looking good after 40 minutes.

The visitors continued to keep their foot on the accelerator in the final session and with just over eight minutes played Hamilton scored a landmark first goal for the club with a blue liner, Jordan again getting the assist, to take the score to 5-1 and end any lingering doubts of a home recovery. A few seconds later Pirates’ Crute and the hosts’ Munro similarly sat out 10 minutes after a brief encounter. The disciplinary infractions weren’t over, however, and with just over a minute remaining the home side’s Ramshaw, having already taken a 10 minute penalty earlier in the game, was summarily thrown out after receiving a Game Misconduct, leaving the visitors happy to end the game comfortably 5-1 ahead, with the prospect of two huge games next weekend as they visit Aberdeen in their Scottish Cup Quarter Final first leg tie on Saturday, before welcoming the in form Dundee Comets to Braehead Arena on Sunday (face off 6.00pm) for another SNL match with two critical league points at stake.

Pirates will be delighted to have got back on their bicycle to record an excellent victory after the disappointment of last weekend, and the boost to their confidence will do them no harm at all as they prepare for another massive weekend.

Scorers:          Thorp (2+0), Campbell, Wilson & Hamilton (all 1+0), Jordan (0+2), Hassan & Guy (both 0+1)