Murrayfield Racers close in on the final with 9-1 demolition of Lynx

Murrayfield Racers look to be well on the way to an appearance in final of their defence of the Stuart Robertson Cup after completing a resounding 9-1 win over Aberdeen Lynx in their semi-final first-leg clash at Murrayfield ice rink last night.

Racers, helped by doubles from 16-year-old man-of-the-match Archie Holmes, and experienced duo Callum Boyd and Joel Gautschi, pulled away from a sluggish looking Lynx outfit in the game’s later stages in a match that almost saw a brawl at the end of the first period following a fight between Racers’ Lewis

Gold and Aberdeen’s Callum Smith.

Referee Andrew Allsop just about managed to calm players down as they left the ice with Racers leading the game 1-0. Gold and Smith received 14 minutes of penalties each, and Murrayfield’s Michael Ireland and goalie Mark McGill were penalised with two-minute minors.

From the resulting

five-on-three power-play Lynx equalised through Mark Laing. Boyd, with a smart finish in the 24th minute, restored Racers’ lead, before goals from

Holmes and Boyd just 14 seconds apart in the 37th minute proved to the catalyst for the big win.

The result capped a great week for Holmes, in which he had already been included in the Scotland Under-17 squad for the upcoming

UK conference matches.

And, hailing the team performance, he said: “This puts us in a great position for the second leg on Saturday, we really pulled away in the third period – that’s when we hit our stride.”

It was Holmes’ first double in a Racers shirt after he made the step up from the Murrayfield junior programme this season, and he continued: “I’m just enjoying everything more and more.

“It’s just great for me to get this sort of experience, playing with guys who have played in the Elite League, and getting really good coaching. I’m really seeing improvements in my game.

“Even with me being younger, the team have welcomed me, and playing in front of the fans in a great atmosphere, is something I’ve

never really experienced before.”