The lights go out and the noise ramps up. The music and the crowd get louder, then from one end, flames shoot out. It’s a full-blown assault on the senses. That’s before a puck is even dropped in anger at Braehead Arena.
The announcement of the players’ names reverberates around the walls and with the accompanying cheers, you can barely hear yourself think as men clad in purple skate their way on to the ice to the sound of Joker and the Thief by Australian rockers, Wolfmother.
On Friday night, that noise and those fans will come together for the final time in the 2024/25 season to back the Glasgow Clan ice hockey team as they look to make the Elite League play-off finals weekend, held in Nottingham over Easter.
In the club’s 15-year history, they’ve only managed it once, in 2014, when, as Braehead Clan, they defeated Nottingham Panthers, coached by multiple winner Corey Neilson, 9-1 on aggregate.
Now, 11 years later, Neilson is in charge in Glasgow and about to end his first campaign, although he has the small matter of a two-legged quarter-final tie with Sheffield Steelers to contend with.
Just three weeks ago, Steelers thrashed Clan 10-2 in a record home loss at Braehead, but Neilson doesn’t believe there will be a hangover from that game.
Glasgow Clan are regularly selling out their matches and now have a chance to make the finals
Clan head coach Corey Neilson is building something at Braehead ALL PICS: Al Goold
‘I don’t think what happened the last time we played them is driving the guys for this one,’ he said. ‘The guys are an emotionally strong group and to be honest, that night, every shot they took went into our net.
‘It was a nightmare, and it was one of those nights. I remember in Nottingham, the year we won the treble, we went to Sheffield, where they murdered us 9-4. One of the biggest games around Christmas time and they destroyed us.
Clan defenceman Simon Despres in a tussle with Sheffield Steelers captain Robert Dowd
‘Sometimes it just happens. You’re flat and every bounce goes the other way so my message to our guys after the game a couple of weeks ago was we’re just going to burn the video. I can’t now because we’re about to play them.
‘I’m going to find some lessons for us to take from that game. Everyone knows what Sheffield does and they’re good at what they do. They’re big, strong, lengthy guys with high hockey IQ and great ability and we have to be at our very best.’
Clan being back in the play-offs is a huge step after ending last season bottom of the 10-team Elite League in a season to forget under Jason Morgan.
It was also the first year under a new ownership, with Premier Sports supremo Michael O’Rourke taking over from former custodian, Neil Black, two years ago. Ironically, Black, who also owns Glasgow’s rivals Nottingham Panthers, was Neilson’s boss in his days there.
Now, a year later, gradual improvements have been made to their Braehead Arena home, with games either sold out (with a 3,500 capacity) or close to sold out for single game.
The jumbotron screens that hangs over centre ice are the most obvious of upgrades which has undoubtedly added to the game-night experience.
All that’s needed now is something shiny and while silverware continues to prove elusive for the organisation, there’s no doubt a coach of Neilson’s calibre is a reflection of the ambition the Clan have going forward.
As a player and a coach, he’s won an Elite League title, seven Challenge Cups and five play-off crowns, completing a Grand Slam in 2013 plus an IIHF Continental Cup in 2017, the first British team to win a European competition – all with the Panthers.
He recalled what the appeal was for him to come back to the UK after spells coaching in Germany, Norway and Slovakia.
He said: ‘It was an opportunity for me to come in and rebuild and it was something I enjoyed doing in Nottingham. I was basically taking over a team that didn’t have a whole load of major direction at the time.
‘I had to build from the beginning, and it took a while, perhaps longer than I’d hoped, but my experience of coaching, it’s something I’ve grown into over the years.
‘This team has some good pieces; a good base and I had some really good conversations before they signed to let them know what the vision was and the expectations from me as well as from them and it’s gone on from there.’
One thing the Clan have missed is a degree of consistency and continuity in the coaching and playing staff. Only one coach has lasted two years and beyond – Ryan Finnerty when he led the club from 2013 to 2017.
Some coaches before and since have signed on beyond a year, but never quite make it for a variety of reasons so now there’s hope Neilson is here for the longer haul after his deal was extended, which was announced last weekend.
The 48-year-old, originally from Oromocto, New Brunswick in Canada but who went on to represent GB in international tournaments, is already planning ahead as he looks to deliver the continuity Glasgow Clan have rarely had.
In fact, the first name added to next year’s roster was announced on Wednesday as captain Deven Sideroff put pen to paper on a two-year deal.
‘First thing is to get a core of British players in who can play key minutes in key situations and grow them together,’ he added. ‘After that, your need leaders and the players who play the way you want your team to identify with.
‘I think we’ve done that. We’ve got a good core and I’d like to retain a big portion if we can.
‘I wouldn’t say we’re far down that road, but we’ve got some deals done and we want to get more deals done, but I’ve been impressed by the group’s diligence on the ice, with video and pre-scouts.
‘In my experience, when you get to the end of the season, you have the guys who have maybe decided in their mind they’re moving on, but I don’t get that from this group. It seems there’s a burning desire for them to return.’
The Glasgow Clan players greet the fans after another pulsating clash at Braehead
So, after a seventh-place finish and a regular season with some strong performance and some positive results, Neilson insists it’s roughly where he wanted to be, but admits, with good fortune, Clan could have been higher.
‘We’re still some way away from winning an Elite League championship, but it’s a big task in a 54-game campaign,’ he said. ‘For me, I was aiming for the middle pack, not the top four which we’ve done so now it’s looking upward to the top four or knocking on the door.
‘Looking back, if we’d started better, things had gone for us at critical times or key moments, I think we could have been there.
‘It would be a big deal for us to do it (reach the play-offs) in the first season. As a coach, I’ve done it multiple times, but before, there was an expectation to be at the finals.
‘This situation is completely different and for some reason, it’s been a struggle for Glasgow to reach the finals weekend. It’s certainly something the players are desperate to do.’
