Paisley Pirates coach Ian Turley believes an action-packed SNL play-off quarter-final win cost his knackered troops a Scottish Cup final spot.
But he’s confident his players can recover and use the pain of their semi-final cup exit as fuel to fire the team to play-off title glory once again.
The Pirates headed into an entertaining weekend of ice hockey with two shots at silverware on the line.
On Saturday, they welcomed Dundee Comets to Braehead Arena looking to book a coveted spot in the play-off finals weekend.
Holding a 4-1 lead heading into the third period, that looked to be confirmed before the Comets mounted a memorable comeback to force the game into overtime.
With neither side sealing the deal in added time, the dramatic tie went to nerve-racking penalty shots with Pirates just edging their way through – much to the delight of the relieved home crowd.
There was no time to recover for Turley’s men, who travelled through to Murrayfield ice rink to take on SNL League champions Aberdeen Lynx in a mouthwatering Scottish Cup semi-final clash on Sunday.
The Pirates took the positivity from the dramatic night before into the first session, racing into a 2-0 lead.
The Braehead Arena outfit just couldn’t get the result over the line though, with Lynx eventually forcing their way to a narrow 4-3 victory.
Despite enduring mixed fortunes on the ice, Pirates coach Turley is pleased his team still have a chance to end the season on a high by replicating their 2019 play-off success this weekend.
He told Renfrewshire Live Sport: “It was a weekend of very mixed emotions overall. We got the job done on Saturday in a very hard-fought win and looked to have taken that into the Scottish Cup game on Sunday.
“We were up against the league champions in Aberdeen but we went two ahead and were playing really well.
“Once they got one back we just looked a little bit deflated. I think it was just a bit of mental toughness and resilience we were missing.
“It’s hard to quantify how much the Saturday night took out of us. With the game going all the way to penalty shots, the fatigue and adrenalin levels were very high and it’s tough to recover from that so quickly.
“We just didn’t have enough in the end on Sunday. The boys were gutted, but thankfully we have got through to the Playoff weekend, which is a staple of our season.
“That’s how we’re judged and I told the boys after the Aberdeen game that we can’t sit back and wonder what happened and what if.
“We’ve got a chance to win something now and end the season with silverware. That’s got to be our aim and I’m confident we can recover and turn it around this weekend.”
The Pirates face Dundee Comets on Saturday at Murrayfield in the semi-finals, with a place in Sunday’s final up for grabs that could see them face Aberdeen Lynx once again. They are hot favourites in their tie against Kilmarnock Thunder.
Turley believes their defeat to the Lynx could actually end up being a positive heading into the season finale event.
He said: “We know it’s going to be tough against the Comets because they’ve beaten us twice this season. There’s almost an arrogance to their play in that they go about their business the same way in every game and are very consistent.
“For me it’s not about ability at this stage, it’s about heart and want and desire. You’ve got to be mentally strong in the play-offs and if we go behind we have to remember it’s a 60 minute game and there’s no reason to panic.
“We have to stick to our guns and I know we have the resilience now to regroup and keep going.
“There’s a huge trophy at stake and it’s very exciting.
“We’ve had our low and hopefully that can galvanise us and be the extra few per cent we need to bring that trophy back to Paisley again.”
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