BRAEHEAD CLAN coach Ryan Finnerty hailed goalie Kyle Jones as the best in the league as the Canadian guided his side to a 4-3 win over rivals Fife Flyers.

The former Pheonix Roadrunner played a defining role in front of a sell-out Braehead Arena on Friday night to deny the Kirkcaldy club 29 times over the course of the match.

The solid foundation given by Jones allowed Clan a platform to perform with the Glasgow club's goals coming via strikes from Neil Trimm, Tristan Harper and a Scott Pitt brace.

Pitt was awarded the man-of-the-match award by the 3,500 fans inside the arena who voted via text for the top player, but Finnerty was full of praise for his shot-stopper Jones, who went on to record back-to back shut-outs in 4-0 wins over Edinburgh and Dundee.

He said: "I think he's the best goalie in the league.

"He had a great game, made some huge saves, but more importantly did it at key times.

"That's what we need him for. We rely on him to be at his best to bail us out. There were a few times we faltered in front of him, but he came up to keep Fife out."

Six of the seven goals on the night came via the powerplay as both sides went for the win that would count both in the league and Challenge Cup standings.

Luckily for Finnerty, it was Clan who came out on top, but he was not slow in praising their east coast rivals who were the victors in the same fixture in Kirkcaldy two weeks earlier.

He said: "It was a great hockey game, if you sat and watched it you got your money's worth.

"Fife are an incredible team. They played very well and we were lucky to get the two points, but I think we deserved it.

"They were the best team in the second half of last season and they've added some good players since then. They are dangerous and haven't surprised me.

"It was a game for the momentum, there wasn't a lot of play in the neutral zone, but thankfully we managed to come out on top."