Deeside Dragons cemented their status as Laidler Conference title challengers with an 8-1 drubbing of Altrincham Aces on Sunday night.

Victory at the Ice Dome was Deeside’s ninth success in eight games, and gives them a commanding lead at the top of the standings.

It saw them build on a resounding Saturday night home success over Coventry Blaze, where Adrian Palak (2), Simon Furnival (2), Alex Parry (2), Marc Lovell, Paul Davies and Filip Supa all netted as the Dragons ran riot.

On Sunday the Chester Road men never looked back after taking the lead in the fourth minute, once again restricting their opponents to just a single goal.

Dragons head coach Lol Paul breathed a sign of relief, after watching his side overcome a vastly improved Aces outfit.

He said: “It is relieving when your team puts that many goals past a team like Altrincham. The lads came out flying and dominated from the start.

“I’m really pleased with the whole team performance, and it wasn’t just the goals. Our breakouts were excellent, as were our transitions.

“Someone said to me at the game that we’ve really developed as a team, and that was great to hear. The guys are certainly flourishing.”

Paul Davies fires home for Deeside Dragons in their 8-1 win at Altrincham Aces on Sunday FLINTSHIRE SPORT

That opening Deeside goal came from Furnival, before a further strike from Davies ahead of the first period break.

Supa added a third at the start of the second session, while Matthew Wainwright found himself on the scoresheet just minutes later.

The hosts scored a consolation goal with four minutes of the period remaining, although James Parsons hit back almost straight away.

Palak and Supa (2) completed the scoring in the final session, giving the Dragons their second victory of the weekend.

Paul added: “Our defence were great, even with guys like Bryn Roberts and Steve Fellows missing. Matthew Wainwright fully deserved his man of the match award.

“I threw Jake Orr in at the deep end and he responded really well. The whole team worked their socks off, which was probably the most impressive thing.

“We have got two massive games next weekend, against Blackburn (Eagles) and Nottingham (Lions).

“We’ll go into training hard this week and not take our foot off the gas.”

The Dragons host the fourth-placed Eagles on Saturday at Deeside Ice Rink (6.45pm) before heading on the road on Sunday for a crunch clash with second-placed Nottingham (7.30pm).