Glasgow Clan head coach Zack Fitzgerald believes the Challenge Cup format needs a revamp.
Fitzgerald's side had a hectic time of things in January, playing twelve games in the course of the month, including defeat to Sheffield Steelers in both the foirst and second legs of their Challenge Cup semi-final tie, which saw the Braehead side go down 9-1 on aggregate.
Fitzgerald believes his side were almost up against it when they faced Sheffield in the second leg of theor Challenge Cup tie at the end of the month having played a "crazy amount of games" and that something must be done to improve the format of the competition.
"January was insane, it was quite a schedule," said Fitzgerald.
"And to throw the Challange Cup games in there, it really pushed the guys to the limit.
"I think the Challange Cup format really needs a re-look. I can see why Sheffield would choose the second leg there (at their home rink) after 3 and 3 (weekends), we were totally gassed, we were tired and only had 14 or 15 shots on net. We were just tired.
"We were at the end of the month and had had a crazy amount of games in a short period of time, not much rest some injuries here and there so January was a tough one."
The Clan's next outing is at home against Guilford Flames in the EIHL this Saturday, with Fitzgerald's men looking for a win to stay in the hunt for a play-off place.
The Clan are currently in seventh place in the EIHL, with Guilford one spot higher and with the end of the league season closing in, Fitzgerald's men need as many wins as they can muster in the coming weeks.
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