Ice Hockey: Clan dish up ice cold revenge on Capitals

EVAN SCHAFER claimed his third goal of the season but it was only a consolation as Edinburgh Capitals were last night beaten 5-1 at Scottish rivals Braehead Clan.

The 6ft 2in former Florida Panther netted in the 12th minute to level the scoreline at 1-1, but Clan then hit four unanswered goals to take the points.

It was the West of Scotland club's third victory in four heady days in which they have beaten league pace-setters Belfast Giants in Ireland and title contenders Nottingham Panthers in the Lace City.

And it was sweet revenge for the 8-3 hammering on their last visit to Murrayfield.

The defeat on Edinburgh's first visit to the Braehead Arena was no surprise given that the Murrayfield men travelled with only seven imports and were without Edinburgh-born defenceman Daniel McIntyre and Fife-born forward Iain Bowie.

David Lomas, who has iced in 30 games, scoring four goals and assisting in nine other strikes, again failed to appear and it was confirmed last night that the hard-hitting forward has played his last game.

The seven imports and nine British players - including raw recruits Sean Donaldson, Craig Main and Jamie Daly - worked hard throughout and were in the game until early in the third period.

Sixth-placed Clan, playing their first season in Britain's top league, have now won 13 of their 30 games and move on to 28 points, four clear of Hull Stingrays.

Capitals remain second bottom of the ten-strong division with 15 points, a record which includes only six wins from 30 games.

Last night's reverse was their sixth in a row but a notable fact was defenceman Schafer's goal, their 100th of the season so far.

Unfortunately, Capitals have lost 161 goals, the worst goals against record in the division and adding to last night's disappointment was the shock 3-2 win by bottom club Newcastle Vipers in Belfast.

The Tyneside team are now only a point behind Capitals with a game in hand.

Last night, Dominic Noel showed his class when he claimed a glory treble in the comfortable 5-1 victory.

It took Clan only 1min 45sec to break through, Noel slotting home.

Schafer equalised in the 12th minute but Noel netted his second on the power play in the 25th minute with Jeff Hutchins in the sin bin for hooking.

Defenceman Cody Bostock joined them on the scoresheet with a third 13 minutes later. Noel netted his third four minutes into the final session with Jordan Krestanovich adding a fifth six minutes later.

Bruce Richardson, Clan's player-coach, said: "We've now beaten Belfast and Nottingham away and Edinburgh at home. It's been a good week."

Scott Neil, Capitals' coach and owner, now faces a massive task to lift spirits ahead of Sunday's home clash with Braehead who will be looking for a double over their near neighbours.Neil is hoping for a big holiday crowd to boost his coffers and bench coach Jock Hay said: "The guys played well and worked hard. It was 1-1 early on and we were only 3-1 behind at the second break. Then we lost a sloppy goal and a power play effort."

The taxi mechanic added: "We play Braehead at Murrayfield on Sunday and we should have Daniel (McIntyre) and Iain (Bowie) back. Two extra bodies is a big help. They were both working. We have a chance of winning on Sunday, we've always got a chance."

Asked about Lomas, Hay said: "He's finished. He's going home at the weekend. It's something to do with college."