Pirates hoard points toboost position

WINCANTON, LINGFIELD, CARLISLE & NEWCASTLE RACECARDS: PAGE 21

Paisley Pirates sailed away from Dundee with another haul of four points to boost their position in the Scottish National League (SNL) with three games remaining of the regular season.

The Braehead-based team capitalised on the double points available for games at the Dundee Ice Arena, beating their hosts 5-1 on Saturday.

Alex Lane, Scott McKay (two), Garry Simpson and Calum Blair scored the goals for the Pirates.

Netminder Daniel McGowan was named man-of-the-match for the Paisley side.

The victory comes just two weeks after they beat Dundee Tigers at the same venue, a pair of results that has pushed them up one place in the SNL to give them a chance of finishing in a more favourable position ahead of the play-off draws.

The top four will be drawn against the bottom four come the end of the regular season. Pirates currently occupy sixth place with 24 points, having leapfrogged Dundee Tigers in the league.

Above them are the Kirkcaldy Kestrels in fifth on 25 points and Kilmarnock Thunder in fourth on 26 points. Kestrels have two games in-hand on the Pirates and Thunder have three, leaving the Paisley side with just a slim chance of breaking into that top four.

Next up for the Pirates are bottom-ofthe-table North Ayrshire Wild away on Saturday, March 16 when Pirates will be looking to get some revenge for their defeat against them two weeks ago.

Following that, they have two crunch games against Thunder and Kestrels on Sunday, March 17 and Sunday, March 24 respectively. Both those ties will be played at the Braehead Arena.