Murrayfield Racers hero Callum Boyd was thrilled to overcome a finger injury to play a key role in helping his team win the NIHL North Cup – but may have lost a nail in doing so.
The 26-year-old scored the overtime winner on Sunday as Tony Hand’s side claimed the trophy over Whitley Warriors in a thrilling end to the two-legged affair.
And Boyd admitted he may have overdone the celebrations after coming back from his injury he sustained at the end of January.
“I’m still on a high from the weekend and it’s a great feeling to be winning that with the boys,” he said.
“Scoring a goal like that left me speechless. I just picked the puck up at the point and pulled a move to open the goal for me, you think about the worst case scenario. When I put it in the net, I quickly realised that was it and the celebrations began from there.
WATCH: Check out the goals from the NIHL North Cup Final second leg
GOAL REEL – Whitley Warriors v @MRacersOfficial (Sun 23rd Feb)
SPONSORED BY HOWDENS TYNE TUNNEL pic.twitter.com/ubsPaZ27Yp
— Whitley Warriors (@WhitleyWarriors) February 23, 2020
“During the celebrations, my fingernail came off after the game.
“We were playing Solway Sharks in the SNL last month and I got in front of a shot, where the puck hit my finger and broke the tip of it, snapping it back the way so it was dangling there with the bone sticking up. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight.
“It shattered the tip of my finger and took the nail bed off so I had to get surgery the next day to get it repaired and have some of the bone taken out. To play, I managed to get by and had a metal clip with bandages to give some support.
“I must have celebrated too hard as the nail had gone, but the finger doesn’t look so bad now, even with the nail missing.”
Racers’ epic victory over Whitley Warriors, winning 7-6 on aggregate made it two trophies for the season, adding to the Stuart Robertson Cup they retained in December.
Boyd takes his big moment to help Racers to their second trophy of the season (PHOTO: Ian Coyle)
The SNL league title is gone after Solway Sharks clinched it at the weekend, but Racers can still end the season with the Scottish Cup and the play-offs too.
Boyd, who has Elite League experience from his time with Edinburgh Capitals and Braehead Clan, believes Racers are capable of making the step up to the NIHL.
He added: “I feel if this club can make the step up into the NIHL, it would be a great thing. The way we’ve been going, we’ve shown we can compete with some of the other teams already there.
“These boys are showing they’ve got the skill level to mix it up and play with some of those really good teams down in England and that’s a good thing for Scottish hockey.
“Winning that cup shows we can make the step up so I think getting into that kind of level would be a good step up for us and a higher skill level and would help improve everyone.
“We’re also putting smiles on the fan’s faces in Edinburgh and everyone’s buzzing when you go to the rink. Everyone’s loving watching the good, competitive hockey and it’s exciting times being in Edinburgh.”
