North Ayrshire Ice Hockey Club’s Rookie Revolution hosted their first games of the season a fortnight ago at Auchenharvie Leisure Centre.

The North Ayrshire Ducks welcomed Ayr Bruins Academy to Stevenston, with a with a full squad of 21 players, with a strong bench and a net minder.

For half the squad, this was their first game ever, but this did not show in their enthusiasm and effort.

Three periods of exciting fast moving hockey ensured an exciting match to watch for all the spectators who came along to cheer on all the players.

Player of the match was Skye McMail for an outstanding performance throughout the game.

Coach Jimbo praised his side for their performance with some players only having skated on ice a handful of times.

He said: “Well done to all the kids, they looked amazing out there. I loved watching them in action after all their hard work at training.

“I am a very proud coach.”

Next up on the ice were the Sabres, who were looking to bounce back from a narrow defeat away at Kirkcaldy.

There was an extra spice to the occasion as well as the Sabres welcomed Ayr for the first local derby of the season.

The hosts started strongly with a goal in the opening minute, which gave the whole team confidence, some who were only playing their first or second game of ice hockey.

The whole game was filled with good phases of play, with some great goals coming from the kids working together.

The end result was a derby day win for the Sabres, finishing the first half of the season with one win and one loss.

Ollie Wilson was awarded the player of the match award on his debut for the Sabres.

Coach Jamie applauded his young side as well as the success of their youth programme.

He said: “The players were fantastic and all their hard work is paying off.

“We started our new training programme, the Rookie Revolution with only 10 kids on the ice at the beginning of the season, in August.

“We now have 40+ players each week, and a waiting list, it is nothing short of amazing.”

If any readers are interested in learning more about NAIHC then visit: https://northayrshireicehockeyclub.co.uk/