SNL Title Up For Grabs
Dundee Rockets host the Edinburgh Capitals tonight at 7pm in a game where the SNL League title could be won if the Rockets pick up the two points on offer.
As the top two teams in the league, the Rockets currently sit on 37 points with four games remaining while the Caps have three games remaining and have 33 points on the board.
It’s a tough ask for the Caps to win the race given how few games are left to get enough points on the board to overtake the Rockets. It is still mathematically possible – but only if they beat the Rockets tonight, win their remaining two games and the Rockets lose their last three games.
The final three games for the Rockets, after they face the Capitals, are against the Paisley Pirates twice and the Kilmarnock Thunder. Both of those teams have failed to challenge the Rockets in their previous meetings. The Rockets have notched up 1-5 and 8-1 wins against the Pirates and have defeated the Thunder with some ease with 0-14, 10-1 and 2-12 wins in their three matchups so far this season.
If the Capitals pick up the win tonight, they will need to ensure they beat both the Kilmarnock Thunder and the Aberdeen Lynx in their last two fixtures to put the pressure on the Rockets.
The Caps have 5-1, 15-0 and 3-10 wins under their belt vs the Thunder but have a slightly less successful record vs the Lynx this season with a 4-3 OT loss and close 3-5 and 6-5 wins against the Aberdeen team.
Looking at the fixtures remaining and the previous results, things look heavily in favour of the Dundee Rockets who have won 18 of their 20 games so far this season but, if there is one team who can potentially trip them up, it is the Edinburgh Capitals.
Head To Head
The Murrayfield outfit are the only team in the league to defeat the Rockets in Regulation this season while their other two meetings were close affairs with 4-6 and 4-3 wins for Jeff Hutchins' men. In-fact the Rockets have only lost twice this season with their other coming from a 1-2 OT loss to the Aberdeen Lynx in the first game of the season.
So, the big focus is on tonight's game when the top two face off with the Rockets looking to win the league in front of their own fans with room to spare but the Caps looking to spoil the party with a win and take the title race further into the season
The Rockets can get their name on a league title in the first season back since the 1986/1987 BHL season while the Caps can get one step closer to an improvement on last season’s second place finish. Those are the stakes so there will be plenty pressure on both teams when they get under way at 7pm on Saturday.
If tonight's game is to be a title decider, then it’s only fair it should be a cracker and, given how both teams have fared lately, it certainly should be. Not only is it first vs second, it’s also the top two form teams facing off against each other. The Rockets are five wins from the last five games while the Capitals have picked up 9 points from 10.
Key Players
There are only two players who have notched up over 50 points in the SNL this season and they are both on the ice this evening. John Dolan and Chad Smith for the Rockets and Capitals, respectively. Dolan has amassed 21 + 34 for 55 points while Smith has racked up 22 + 29 for 51 points.
There is, however, strength in depth on both rosters so it should, indeed, be a tasty encounter.
Joe Lynch and Joel Gautschi have both hit 47 points so far this season with 31 + 16 and 16+ 31 respectively so, in addition to Chad Smith, they represent a significant threat to the Rockets defence.
Rio Page with 19 + 15 for 34 points and Sean Beattie with 12 + 16 for 28 points are the heavy points scorers for Dundee, after John Dolan so are the players to watch for the Capitals.
The Rockets have 3 other players with goals in the double figures this season – Lewis McIntosh on 14 plus Ben Brown and Michel Beca both on 10 – which adds further fire power for the Rockets.
Sam McCluskey and Cam McGiffin bring the threat from the blue line also with 13 goals and 22 assists between them so far this season.
Meanwhile, the Capitals have Sean Cochrane (19 points), Kris Phillips (13 points) and Sean Donaldson (10 points) giving them scoring depth up front plus a wealth of experience on the blue line. James Issacs with 7 + 15 for 22 points and Rihards Grigors on 8 + 24 for 32 points need a Rocket’s eye or two kept on them to prevent them adding to their tallies this season.
Between The Pipes
With the offensive threats on offer from both teams, the goal tenders at both ends of the Dundee Ice Arena will need to be at their best to keep those high scoring forwards at bay.
This game will feature the best of the best in terms of SNL netminding this season, no matter which of the tandems get the starting nod from the coaches.
The Rockets’ goalie pair have only conceded 39 goals between them all season, playing a huge part in the team’s winning ways up until now.
Euan Simpson has a save percentage of 0.938 and a goals against average of just 1.28 in his 24 starts while Dale Shearer has a save percentage of 0.927 and a 1.90 goals against average in his 15 hours and 15 minutes on ice this season.
The goalies from Murrayfield have shared ice time fairly equally this season and both have impressive stats.
Craig Chalmers has a goals against average of 2.65 with a save percentage of 0.918.
Ciaran Hoggan has a goals against average of 2.34 with a save percentage of 0.905.
They have both done well to keep the Rockets goal tally limited in the head to heads this season with the Rockets only managing 11 goals against Edinburgh this season which is significantly less than they’ve scored against other opposition.
SNL Silverware 24/25
Whatever happens tonight, it’s very likely the Dundee Rockets will be the 24/25 SNL League Champions. The Capitals may well delay the inevitable with their second win of the season over the Rockets but, even if they do, it is very unlikely that the Rockets will lose to Paisley or Kilmarnock, especially given the previous results against them.
Saturday will give the Dundee Rockets a great chance to win the title in front of their own fans and raise some silverware aloft at the first time of asking and they will go all out to achieve that.
The Rockets also have a cup final to look forward to where they will face the Kirkcaldy Kestrels. Again, they will be favourites due to winning all 4 games against the Kestrels during the regular season.
These are the games when it’s all on the line and who ever deals with the pressure best, will come out the other side with a trophy in the post-match team photo.
The Rockets may well be favourites for the title, but they need to jump all the hurdles in their way to complete the job and the first of those are the Edinburgh Capitals on Saturday.
Game Info
Dundee Rockets vs Edinburgh Capitals
Dundee Ice Arena
Saturday 1st March. 19:00
Tickets: -
Adult £12 - Concession £8 - Under 10s Free
Dundee Stars Ticket Holders - 2 adults for £20 when presented at door.
Remaining Games
Dundee Rockets
Saturday 1st March – Edinburgh Capitals (H)
Sunday 2nd March – Paisley Pirates (A)
Saturday 8th March – Paisley Pirates (H)
Saturday 15th March – Kilmarnock Thunder (H)
Edinburgh Capitals
Saturday 1st March – Dundee Rockets (A)
Saturday 8th March – Kilmarnock Thunder (A)
Sat 15th March – Aberdeen Lynx (H)
Scottish Cup Final
Dundee Rockets vs Kirkcaldy Kestrels (Date TBC)
Photos courtesy of siha-uk.co.uk and edcapitals.com
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