Weekend round-up: Pirates bounce back in Dumfries

Paisley Pirates finished a demanding weekend on the road with a hard-fought 4–3 win over Solway Sharks SNL, bouncing back from an 8–0 defeat at Edinburgh Capitals.

The opening game of the weekend brought a difficult evening at Murrayfield. A well-drilled Capitals side, backed by depth across their squad and a terrific performance from their netminder, proved too strong for Paisley and brought our unbeaten start to the league campaign to an end.

There were familiar faces in the Edinburgh line-up, with Marcus Murdoch and Marty Simpson facing Pirates for the first time since moving to Capitals. Both served as our alternate captains last season.

There were no excuses for the result, with Edinburgh the better side on the night. Mylo Wylie was named Pirates’ Man of the Match, and the focus quickly turned to taking the positives from the performance and regrouping for the trip to Dumfries.

That visit to Dumfries Ice Bowl marked the fifth game in our run of seven consecutive away fixtures. Another closely contested encounter with Solway followed, but Pirates came through to secure the win and return home with two valuable points.

Ryan Campbell scored twice, with Ryan Parkin and Cale Tanaka each adding a goal in the 4–3 victory. Campbell also picked up Pirates’ Man of the Match award following his two-goal contribution.

The result takes our league record to four wins from five games. Pirates sit third in the latest published Scottish National League standings with eight points, level with second-placed Dundee, who have played four matches. Leaders Whitley are two points ahead, having played six games.

Thank you to everyone who made the journeys to Murrayfield and Dumfries and backed the team across both fixtures. Your support throughout this opening run of away games is greatly appreciated.

Our away run continues on Saturday 10 October with a trip to Aberdeen’s Linx Ice Arena, where face-off is at 7.15pm. Travelling supporters are encouraged to make the journey and get behind the team as we look to build on the victory in Dumfries.