BRAEHEAD CLAN took a giant leap towards realising their dream of winning the Elite League for the first time in a pivotal weekend.

Fresh from being named as Gardiner Conference champions just five days earlier, the table-toppers went into a home double-header against title rivals Nottingham Panthers on Friday before welcoming local enemies Fife Flyers to Braehead Arena last night.

A sell-out crowd in the first game witnessed Clan batter the English cracks 4-2 as Stefan Meyer (2), Matt Keith and Derek Roehl hit the target. And last night they managed to better that score against the Kirkcaldy outfit with Scott Pitt, Neil Trimm, Leigh Salters, Keith and Meyer securing a 5-2 win.

To top things off, lowly Coventry Blaze inflicted a stunning 5-3 defeat on second-placed Sheffield Steelers, meaning Braehead's gap at the top of the table was extended to five points with only 14 points left available to the Steelers.

It places even more importance on Wednesday's crucial crunch between the two in Sheffield, and Clan head coach Ryan Finnerty is relishing the prospect.

The former Steelers player/coach told SportTimes: "Every game just now is important. It doesn't matter if you are playing Sheffield or the Solway Sharks, it's of massive importance. You don't have time at this stage to correct bad performances, it's play-off hockey, it's exciting hockey and this is what we are all about.

"This is a do-or-die situation and we are treating it like play-off hockey. There is a buzz around the room and a good atmosphere. It's a great organisation to be around and we just want to keep it going now."

Friday's win gave Clan and the Purple Army a chance to celebrate what they hope is the first of a few pieces of silverware this season.

Following their victory the players were presented with the Gardiner Conference trophy in front of 3,576 screaming supporters.

However, superstition within the locker room meant that none of the Braehead squad physically touched the trophy through fear of jinxing their title run-in.

Finnerty explained: "It's a North American thing. It comes from the NHL teams that win the President's Trophy going into the play-offs. It's a bit of a bad omen to touch it. You want to win the Stanley Cup. For us the league is our Stanley Cup, so that's how the boys looked at it."

The run of results at the weekend across the league now has the title chase looking like a three-horse race. With just six games left, Clan lead Sheffield and Cardiff Devils by five points as Nottingham's challenge fades away.

Finnerty added: "I think it's getting pretty difficult for Nottingham to challenge. I think even before the game on Friday maybe a few of their guys didn't believe they were still in it.

"They are an incredibly talented team. We had to defend like we haven't in a while and they created stuff we haven't seen in the offensive zone. But Jonesy [Clan goaltender Kyle Jones] was the answer, as he has been all season. He has been our rock and we will need him to be at his best again when we go to Sheffield on Wednesday."