PREVIEW: THIS FRIDAY its challenge cup action against Sheffield…
NEXT HOME GAMES: We have a ‘Frighteningly’ good weekend coming up with the Sheffield Steelers visiting THIS FRIDAY (7:30pm face-off) and the Belfast Giants visiting THIS SATURDAY (7:00pm face-off). Tickets are available NOW via TICKETMASTER, by calling 0844 499 1700 or direct at the Braehead Arena box office.
Glasgow’s Braehead Clan will welcome the Sheffield Steelers and Belfast Giants for a huge weekend of hockey at the Braehead Arena.
The Clan will start off the weekend on Friday night as they face off against the Steelers in the Challenge Cup. The Steelers lead the group and have already secured qualification to the quarterfinals with four wins from four games. In the previous group game between the two sides, the Clan came up just short, losing 3-2 in Sheffield.
Qualification for the next round is still hanging in the balance for the Clan, a win on Friday could prove pivotal to progressing. Our Match Night Live Reporter, David Marshall (@marshalldave38), looks at three of the main threats that will stand in the way of a Clan victory.
#1 John Armstrong (F)
Armstrong is playing his second season in Sheffield and has had a fine start to the season with 10 league goals and two Challenge Cup goals putting him right in amongst the league leaders in point scoring.
He was a part of the Steelers team that won the 2017 Playoff Championship and scored 50 points in the league last season, 22 goals and 28 assists. Armstrong scored last weekend during the 4-3 loss to the Belfast Giants. He also had two assists in the 4-0 win over the Cardiff Devils on Saturday night.
In 2006, Armstrong was a third-round pick for the Calgary Flames in the NHL Draft. He scored the first goal against the Clan last time out, so the defence has plenty of warning of the goal threat that Armstrong will bring.
#2 Zack Fitzgerald (D)
A man who is no stranger to the Braehead faithful. Fitzgerald came to the Clan for the 2014/15 season as a player-coach and was a firm fan favourite.
He helped the Clan win the Gardner Conference and gain qualification to the Champions League for the first time. His hard-hitting style saw him be revered by the fans and feared by the opposition.
Fitzgerald is much more than a simple hatchet man and he has had a career to back that up. He was a third-round pick for the St.Louis Blues in the 2003 NHL Draft and played in the league for the Vancouver Canucks.
“Fitzy” helped the Steelers to the 2016 Elite League Championship and the 2017 Playoff title. However, he can be quick to anger and has a somewhat chequered disciplinary record. Fitzgerald has been the most penalised player over a season four times in his career. During his season at The Clan, he spent 304 minutes of it in the penalty box.
The Clan did well last week to put Fitzgerald’s old rival, Matt Nickerson, off his game. Doing the same to Fitzgerald will be a massive help to the home side’s cause.
#3 Ben O’Connor (D)
One of the starlets of the Great Britain side. O’Connor is as comfortable going forward as he is in defence.
In the 2016/17 season, O’Connor accumulated 33 assists in the league which was the exact same amount that he got in the 2015/16 season. O’Connor has hit the ground running this term already racking up 13 assists in the league and five in the Challenge Cup.
O’Connor has had a glittering career full of individual and team honours. He was a part of the GB Team that won the World Championship D1B Gold medal this year and was named best defenceman, an award he has now won three years in a row.
During his time with the Steelers, he has won the Elite League twice, in 2015 and 2016, and the Play-Off title in 2017. Truly a modern great of British Ice Hockey.
NEXT HOME GAMES: We have a ‘Frighteningly’ good weekend coming up with the Sheffield Steelers visiting THIS FRIDAY (7:30pm face-off) and the Belfast Giants visiting THIS SATURDAY (7:00pm face-off). Tickets are available NOW via TICKETMASTER, by calling 0844 499 1700 or direct at the Braehead Arena box office.
