Tough talk from head coach

Craig Ritchie

Braehead Clan head coach John Tripp has revealed that he had to be harsh on his players to get a reaction.

Clan returned to winning ways over the weekend, ensuring they picked up four points with wins over Nottingham Panthers and Edinburgh Capitals.

It was a stark contrast to the back- toback defeats the side endured the previous weekend, leaving Tripp delighted with the progress the side has made.

However, he says he wasn’t all smiles as he insists that there is still room for improvement in the Clan ranks in the coming days and weeks.

Tripp said: “I’ll be honest about it, I wasn’t all positive with the guys this weekend.

“I had to crack the whip a little bit but we have four points. It’s all that matters.

“I have high expectations of these guys. They flucuated, but in the end they showed up and they got the points.

“The reaction from last week was good. It is in the right direction and it is what I wanted to see.

“They set the standards for themselves, they showed us that they can beat Nottingham at Nottingham.

“But there were more than 50 shots at Ryan. We need to tighten up defensively.

“Ryan plays solidly every game but there are going to be some games where he might not be at his best, and that is when the boys will have to step up.”

Clan were ably backed up by keeper Ryan Nie over the course of the two games with the summer signing producing two man of the match performances.

And Tripp admits it is work at the other end that is requiring improvement as he called on his shot shy forwards to become more confident in front of goal.

Tripp added: “Some of our issues are we are not shooting enough, we are trying to make these pretty passes.

“We are trying to get away from that and I’m telling them to get over the blue line and funnel the puck to the net because then things will happen.

“Look at the goals we scored against Edinburgh, once we were over the blue line then we shot.

“It’s the simple things that work really well but nobody can really complain.”

Former NHL star player Ryan Potulny also made his debut over the weekend having had to wait for confirmation of a Visa for his move.

And Tripp reckons his addition will only serve to strengthen the side.

He added: “Ryan Potulny did well. We threw him in the fire, he’s been skating.

“He’s calm, he’s got patience, and he’s really smart and he showed us that so he did really well.

“He’s going to get even better, so we are going to get better.”