Ice Hockey: Plumber Hay plugs holes

Published on Monday 30 November 2009 08:54

MAKESHIFT defenceman Neil Hay was one of a team of heroes as Edinburgh Capitals toughed out a second straight Elite League win and then admitted: "I'm a blue line rookie."

The 25-year-old switched to defence when Canadian defenceman Mike Beynon failed a late fitness test. And the trainee plumber helped plug the gaps as the Murrayfield men edged Cardiff Devils in another thriller at the Riversdale rink.

The 2-1 victory came courtesy of goals from razor-sharp Owen Fussey and man-of-many-clubs, Jeff Hutchins, but this was a gutsy team effort.

Capitals netminder Cody Rudkowsky allowed only one goal in 43 shots, 18 coming in the final period when Devils bombarded Edinburgh's net in search of a leveller. His counterpart, Great Britain stopper Stevie Lyle, had only eight shots to deal with in the final 20 minutes and 35 in all.

Hay had never played a full competitive game in defence until Saturday. The Edinburgh-born former bank worker had been on stand-by as Beynon struggled to shake off his injury.

He admitted: "That's the first time I've every played a full game in defence and I was told to keep things simple. I tried to do that but it was tough with the likes of Brad Voth coming at you.

"The pressure is really on in defence. Up front I can make a mistake and there is somebody who can bail me out but, in defence, if you make a mistake then there's nobody. I trained with the guys in defence this week and I'll do anything to help the team. However, I hope Mike is fit next weekend as we've got three really tough games."

Capitals are in Belfast on Friday, move to Cardiff on Saturday and then square-up to bottom club Hull Stingrays at Murrayfield on Sunday.

It's a tough schedule, but back-to-back home wins over league pace-setters Coventry Blaze and now Cardiff, who are fifth in the eight-strong table, one place above Capitals, has given the side a confidence-boost.

Hay added: "Belfast are the best team we've faced so far and they are in the title race, Cardiff are really built for their small ice and will be really tough and we want to keep Hull struggling.

"I got though Saturday by keeping things simple. The guys talked to me during the game and Kyle Horne, who has bags of experience, kept me right."

Doug Christiansen, Capitals' director of hockey, praised Hay and also Kirkcaldy-based Horne, who has been voted one of the club's assistant captains to replace the now-departed Chris Allen.

Christiansen said: "This was a team performance. We've worked hard on defence during the week after the narrow win over Coventry and I was really proud of the effort. Neil had a great game, Kyle Horne had one of his best games for the club and we really worked hard for that one."

The 520 fans were on the edge of their seats as Capitals were penned into their own end in the countdown to the final whistle.

Earlier, Capitals had taken the lead after 19 minutes when Fussey broke clear after picking up the puck in the neutral zone and beat netminder Lyle on a one-on-one, tucking the puck away efficiently low down.

It took Devils until the 33rd minute to level, former Capitals defenceman Gerad Adams netting a controversial goal with rinkside observers claiming that two Devils were in the crease at the time.

Hutchins claimed the winner at 45min 59sec, slotting home as Capitals switched from defence to attack down the right wing. Dunfermline-born Scott McKenzie, who is proving a good acquisition from Dundee CCS Stars, played a major part in the build-up.