Pirates tame the Tigers

BEN RAMAGE

Pi rates mauled Dundee Tigers to earn some sweet revenge for an agoanising overtime loss.

The Pa i s l e y side continued their welcome return to form by securing a convincing 5-1 win over the side that beat them at the death earlier this season at Braehead Arena.

The visitors were up for the scrap and were ahead in less than three minutes as Dan Abercrombie finished off a move with Ben Walker and Calum Henderson to beat Craig Mallinson and give his side a narrow advantage which they kept for the rest of the period.

They doubled their lead early in the middle session as Martyn Guy fed Conor Duncan and the sniper wasted no time in burying the puck to give his side a bit of breathing space after the Tigers had fought their way back into the game.

Pirates scored a third in the 35th minute as Abercrombie netted his second of the night, but Tigers hauled themselves back into the frame with a goal by Ross McIntosh just 18 seconds later to reduce the deficit going into the final session.

Pirates’ Graeme Meechan continued to be the busier keeper in the final session, but his team mates continued to be the sharper at the other end of the ice and a goal by Walker with seven minutes left gave them breathing space at 4-1.

Abercrombie’s hat-trick strike sealed the win with seconds left to end all the arguments as his team cruised to victory.

And 24 hours earlier the Pirates skated to a sensational 13-4 win over Belfast Giants at Braehead.

The home side again made a blistering start, going ahead after only 18 seconds as Duncan was first to reach a loose puck.

The Giants were level by the second minute as they broke away to score through Stephen Eccles.

Pirates were having the better of the exchanges, w h i l e G i a nt s w e re threatening on the break, and it took until the 10th minute for the former to edge ahead again through Henderson.

The hosts were looking to increase their lead and did so with a three in four minute burst by Duncan, completing his hat-trick in just 20 minutes, and Dean Hamilton.

The beginning of the middle session had the same explosive start as the first, as Giants broke from the face off to net through Gareth Roberts before Pirates responded in kind as a flowing move involving Sarginson, Thorp and Duncan ended with the latter firing home.

The hosts were now rampant with Thorp and Kenneth netting to take the game away from the visitors.

The goals continued to flow at both ends and after Abercrombie had made it 9- 2 at the half way mark, Karl O’Neill pulled one back for the visitors within a minute, only for Walker to net number 10 a minute later.

This frenetic spell seemed to take the wind out of both teams and while chances continued to go a-begging at either end, it took until a minute before the end of the session for Giants to add a fourth through Eccles to take the scoreline to 10-4.

The final period saw Duncan net his fifth, before Henderson and Sarginson rounded off the scoring.