A FURIOUS Ryan Finnerty got the reaction he was looking for from his Braehead Clan after the agony of a defeat was blown away thanks to a 10-2 thrashing of Edinburgh Capitals.
The Clan head coach fumed at his lacklustre side for throwing away a three goal lead to the Nottingham Panthers, only to go down on penalty shots later on at the Braehead Arena.
It was the latest disappointing result for the Glasgow side who have struggled – along with most sides in the Elite League – to discover some consistency this season.
And Finnerty said: “Even at 3-0 we let them claw back in it. We had a couple of mistakes that cost us but ultimately my power play was the reason we lost the game. One billion per cent.
“Describing our power play as being quite poor is quite complimentary. It’s been disgusting, embarrassing and any other word you want to call it. Tonight was probably the lowest in my coaching career I’ve ever seen.
“When your top line is getting outworked continuously on the power play then you have serious, serious problems. That’s what’s going on right now and I’m not hiding, I’m not going to protect them anymore.”
The message was clear then for Clan as they travelled to Murrayfield last night to face an Capitals team only one place below them in seventh.
However, the gulf in class on the ice suggested the gap between the two Scottish sides should be much greater as Braehead recorded their biggest winning margin of the season.
Trevor Gerling got the hosts off to a positive start with the opening goal on seven minutes, but it would be a rare moment of hope for Edinburgh on a dark, gloomy night.
Chris Bruton soon levelled with the first of four goals, before Scott Pitt put the visitors ahead within two minutes. Stefan Meyer added a third before the end of the first period.
It was that man Bruton who would kick off the second with another goal just one minute and 17 seconds after the restart before Thomas Nesbitt, Pitt, Brendan Brooks and Bruton again extended Braehead’s lead.
The former Spokane Chief grabbed completed his quartet early on in the third, before Pitt took the score to double figures a minute and 18 seconds before the buzzer.
All eyes will now turn to the visit of Sheffield Steelers to Braehead Arena this Saturday, the same fixture that saw Clan throw away a three-goal lead in the final period only to eventually lose 9-8 in overtime.
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