Scottish Cup Champions 2010
For the first time in Ayr Jets history the team became Scottish Cup Champions in 2010.
May 1st saw the Jets make the annual pilgrimage to Dundee Ice Arena in their newly acquired team bus for the Scottish Recreational Ice Hockey Conference (SRIHC) Cup. The Jets were drawn in a difficult group which included rough & tumble opponents
Edinburgh Phoenix, Glenrothes Cougars, home town rivals Ayr Lions & last year's champions: Paisley Blackhawks.
The first game in the group stage against Glenrothes Cougars was a bit of a shaky start ending in a 2-2 draw with goals from Gary Morris & Michael Hose, which went on to be the only game the Jets didn't win in the tournament. The bus legs were a bit of a problem as it took a bit of time for the boys from Ayr to get up to full speed. However they struggled through and managed to secure a tie in the opening game of their weekend.
In the second game Ayr faced off against Edinburgh Phoenix in another difficult contest. The team from the capital played hard forcing the Jets to fight through the fatigue from the two previous games. Two goals from Gary Morris and another from Kevin Simpson secured the second victory of the day and putting Ayr at the top of the group. Final score 3-1
In the last game on Saturday, the Jets played the current champions; Paisley. Having already defeated the Blackhawks earlier in the season the Ayr side were feeling confident going into the game. Paisley had other ideas however and battled hard, making the Jets dig even deeper to score past netminder, Malcolm Anderson three times to Ayr goalie, Bernie McCrone's deficit of one. Scoring came from Simpson, Stephen Bonar and an empty-net deflection from George Cathcart. Final score 3-1.
Sunday morning saw both Ayr teams go head-to-head as the Jets iced against the Lions. The rivalry was competitive as ever between the sides, as was their ever growing respect for each other. Lions managed to slip one past Goalie of the Tournament, Bernie McCrone before the Jetsons snipers, Charlie Crawford & Michael Hose got their act together to slip one each into the opposing goal, secure the top of the group with no losses and a place in the semi final. Final score 2-1.
The semi-final was a clash with Kirkcaldy Kings that would prove to be epic, causing the most excitement of the tournament so far. Jets conceded two quick goals and heads started to droop but the fight wasn't over as Jets exploded up the ice to equalise with two goals in quick succession from John Kidd & Gary Morris. Kirkcaldy answered with less than 2 minutes to go by stepping up a gear and fired another one into the top right corner of the twine from a sneaky shot in the slot as the Jets' goalie was screened to take the lead again. Ayr were determined not to get knocked out at this stage after playing so well in the previous games and managed to equalise with a Michael Hose goal in the closing seconds sending the game to a penalty shoot-out.
Quite often referred to as the most exciting spectacle in sports, the penalty shoot-out didn't disappoint. Kirkcaldy lined up first with Latto on deck and he outmanoeuvred McCrone to take a 1-0 lead. Jets first shooter, Michael Hose's shot went over the bar keeping the score unchanged. Kings second shot wasn't as good as their previous with a big save from the Jets' goal-keeper. Next to go for Ayr was Player of the Tournament, Kevin Simpson who directed a laser-guided shot past the Kirkcaldy goalie and into the back of the net to tie it up at one each.
The Kings missed their last shot, leaving all the pressure on Jets' forward and Top Points Scorer of the Tournament, Gary Morris. With Gary's pedigree from his ex-professional footballer (and booster club member) dad, Eric Morris and his form over the season, Ayr looked to be in a good position. As Morris skated in for his shot however, the proof is in the pudding as they say as his shot rattled wide of the net. With the score at 1-1, the shoot-out got even more hyped up as it went into sudden death.
Kings' Latto set his sights on goal once more but Bernie closed the trap on him, setting Michael Hose up for redemption. And redeem himself he did with a beautifully taken penalty he jammed his shot past Kirkcaldy netminder sending the Jets to the final as the rest of the Ayr squad rushed the ice for a small celebration.
The other semi-final saw some swash-buckling play from group B leaders, Riversdale Pirates and Paisley Blackhawks. Paisley stepped out in front first before Riversdale equalised and the Blackhawks secured their spot in the final versus the Jets as they took a 2-1 lead to win.
The 2010 Scottish Cup Final between the underdog Ayr Jets and previous champions Paisley Blackhawks turned out to be even more epic than the semi-finals preceding it. Both teams put in a monumentous effort in the fastest team sport in the world with end-to-end action. The shots rained on the goalies from both teams but time after time, they were refused entry to the scorers club. Denial after denial, more refusals than a Northern Rock mortgage department, the netminders stood on their heads.
It's often said in ice-hockey that you need a great goalie to win a big game and both Paisley's Robin Elliot & Ayr's Bernie McCrone were exactly that on this day. At the end of regulation time the game remained scoreless and the format from there was a sudden death overtime period followed by a penalty shoot-out. The penalties weren't required though as Michael Hose scored the Cup winning goal just 50 seconds into the period and the Jets stormed the rink once more for a proper celebration this time.
The ice pad was littered with sticks & helmets as the Jets succumbed to their emotions, erupting in exuberance. This is the first time the Jets have won the Scottish Cup in their 25 year history and are the only team to win it undefeated. The Scottish Cup title brings a huge victory to Ayr in the same weekend as home town football team, Ayr United were relegated to the 2nd Division.
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We want to pay tribute to Kevin Simpson as this was his last game of ice hockey due to medical reasons. He is a tremendous player and will be impossible to replace. Thanks to all our fans for your support this season and always. Special thanks to the Ayr Lions for staying through in Dundee to support us and thank you to our sponsors:
Mossie & Kirkland Security Systems, West Coast Fisheries, Apex Home Improvements, Reid's Skates & Trophies, Jim Cosker Electrical Services, St Andrews Hotel & Bar and Ulka Web Design.
Player of the Tournament: Kevin Simpson, Top Point Scorer: Gary Morris, Best Goalie: Bernie McCrone
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