Alistair Johnston reckons growing up with the Tigers helped fire him up for smashing into the Bears. The Celtic ace relished his debut at the deep end after being thrown straight into Monday’s fiery showdown with Glasgow rivals Rangers.Johnston skated it on his first start and didn’t shy away from getting stuck in.
The 22-year-old admitted his ice hockey background with his hometown outfit Aurora Tigers came in handy when the going got rough around Govan.He was on thin ice at one point when he went through Gers midfielder John Lundstram but Johnston got wired in and loved every second of the 2-2 draw which kept Celts in charge of the Premiership title race.
The £3m signing from Montreal was warned it would be physical – but that was right in his rink. Johnston said: “As a defender I can get into a game just by smashing someone, right up the back!
It’s kind of in my upbringing as a Canadian where we played hockey half the year and the summer is football. It’s in our DNA to be physical and to work hard.
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