Inverness ice hockey club Highland Capitals earn promotion after comeback victory over Dundee Pirates
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Highland Capitals celebrated promotion to The Cup after defeating Dundee Pirates 12-8 on aggregate in their two legged play-off final last week.
The Inverness club had to come from behind after losing the first leg 4-3 on Friday night in Dundee, which was their first defeat this season.
But the Capitals stormed back in the second leg at Inverness Ice Centre on Saturday which they won 9-5 to secure the aggregate win and promotion to the next level of Scottish ice hockey.
Over 300 people were in attendance at the Inverness Ice Centre on Saturday night in what was their biggest crowd of the season.
Captain Jamie Brown says it was a terrific performance by his team in the second leg to secure overall victory.
"In the first leg, Dundee came out all firing and we were missing four of our players," said Brown.
"But they didn't press their home advantage enough and we were confident that we would get the better of them in Inverness.
"We had players back for the second leg, but we did go 2-0 down early on and at one point we were 6-3 down on aggregate.
"But we then went on to score nine goals in the match. We were more disciplined towards the end of the game which showed in the end as Dundee conceded to many penalties."
Brown says the club were thrilled to draw such a huge crowd to the Inverness Ice Centre on Saturday.
He hopes that it will prove a massive boost for the sport in the city and attract a new audience to not just watch their games, but also consider taking up the sport too.
"Saturday night was the biggest crowd we have had in Inverness for any Highland Capitals game," he said.
"It was easy to get ourselves up for the match when you are playing in front of a crowd that size.
"There were a lot of fans who had our jerseys on as well which made it a special atmosphere on Saturday night.
"The play-off final and drawing a crowd of that size has basically put Highland Capitals on the map.
"The publicity we got for the play-off final saw fans come for the first time, who didn't even know we played ice hockey at the Inverness Ice Centre.
"We received a lot of great comments from fans who said they will definitely be coming back for more."
Highland Capitals will be playing in The Cup in May, which will take place in Dundee. But before that, they are preparing for their next match against Kilmarnock outfit Caledonian Thunder on Sunday, February 17 at the Inverness Ice Centre.
