In what had been a tumultuous few weeks for the Flyers they welcomed the Belfast Giants to Kirkcaldy for the first of the league meetings between the teams this season. The visitors were the in form team having won their last six games on the back of their own injury issues starting to clear.  Joe Cassetti was still a long term injury scratch with Tom McCollum also being given the night off as the healthy scratch with Jackson Whistle starting in net. The Flyers were without the injured Phélix Martineau and Olivier LeBlanc with an undisclosed number of other players icing despite not being 100% healthy. To meet league minimum game night roster requirements the club drafted in four players on two way contracts. The Kestrels Josh Saunders made his debut and he was joined by the return of James Spence. Owen Dell and Rhys Edwards also made their debuts having stepped up from the Leeds Knights and Hull Seahawks respectively. Recent signing Kieran Craig also made his first start having only arrived in Kirkcaldy 24 hours earlier.

The Giants started with the first chance on net after 40 seconds when Shane Owen did well to block a shot from Gabe Bast who had drifted into the slot to get his shot away. It was to be the start of a busy evening for the Fife netminder. The Flyers however were on the games first power play after 50 seconds when former Flyer Kyle Osterberg was called for tripping. The home side almost had the opening goal when Daniel Krenželok was parked on the edge of the crease and his tip went narrowly wide of the far post. The Flyers moved the puck around well during their man advantage but the Giants completed the kill. Owen was in action again in the 4^th minute when he denied Ciaran Long on the backhand. The opening goal went the way of the visitors in the 5^th minute when the puck fell nicely for Pierre-Olivier Morin who was in the slot and with Owen set for the initial shot he hit the wide open net. The Giants went on their first power play in the 6^th minute when Krenželok was penalised for boarding Osterberg The Flyers did well on their first kill with Owen only called into serious action once when he made a blocker save on Mike Lee before returning to full strength. Michael Cichy forced Whistle into action in the 9^th minute when the Giants keeper padded the puck away. The Flyers were back on the man advantage in the12th minute with Jordan Kawaguchi being called for tripping. Jordan Stallard almost levelled the game when he got on the end of a sweeping move but he chipped the puck just over the bar from close in. Austin Farley with a shot from the circles was then denied by Whistle and Morin almost got a shorthanded counter with a shot Owen had to look lively to keep out. The Flyers did draw level with their man  advantage when Massimo Carozza was able to redirect the puck home from the slot. The Flyers threatened again in the 14^th minute when Cichy forced a fine leg save from Whistle and shortly after Bo Hanson was penalised for boarding as the Flyers went back on the power play. Craig was first to threaten with a shot from the slot that Whistle did well to save with his pad and the Flyers new boy was denied again from almost the same position seconds later. Owen denied Josh Roach a short handed chance as he made a glove save just before the Giants returned to full strength. The Flyers survived an almighty scramble around their net in the 17^th minute as Owen made a couple of saves and the Flyers players collapse around him to block shots as the Giants couldn’t get a final touch on the puck.

The Giants opened the second period on the front foot and had the Flyers pinned in their own end of the ice for long spells. In the opening minute Lee brought out a fine pad save by Owen who then snagged a shot from the blueline. Owen and Lee renewed their battle in the 23^rd minute with the Fife keeper again coming out on top. In the 24^th minute Owen was out at the top of his crease to swallow  shot from Morin and a minute later he produced a shoulder save to deny Mark Cooper. In the 26^th minute however the Giants got the go ahead goal when Lee did beat an unsighted Owen with a wrist shot from up on the blueline that went through a crowd of players. Scott Conway was called for hooking and Carozza went end to end with the puck before appearing to be tripped but no call was made as the Giants killed the latest Flyers power play. Then came a decisive two goals inside 20 seconds. The first had a real stroke of misfortune for the Flyers about it as Conway shot the puck wide of goal and it came back up off the kickplate and over the net hitting Owen and a Flyers defenceman and rolled into the net. The Giants made it 4-1 with a well-executed goal by Karl Boudrais who was sprung up the middle of the ice by a fine heads up pass by Hanson which resulted in the Flyers calling a time out. In the 31^st minute Owen made a big pad save on Hanson but moments later the Giants increased their lead when they went down the left wing and Lee zipped the puck across the slot for Ben Lake to fire a one timer past Owen. Whistle had had very little to do in the period but in the 35^th minute he was alert to stop a Krenželok tip on the edge of his crease making a reactionary pad save. The Flyers ended the period by creating a couple of half chances which Farley and Ryan Foss were unable to beat Whistle with.

The third period started with the Giants content to play with their lead and the first real chance was in the 45^th when Whistle survived a scramble around his net with Carozza just failing to get a decisive touch on the puck. A minute later and Cooper with a shot from below the circles was shut down by Owen. Elijiah Barriga was next to be thwarted by the Fife keeper when his snapshot from the slot was gloved by Owen. The Giants went on their second power play in the 49th minute with Stallard guilty of holding. Morin was denied by a fine pad save by Owen and then stymied Bobo Carpenter in similar fashion. Farley created a shorthanded chance with a steal but Whistle produced a poke check as the players collided and the Giants completed the kill. In the 52^nd minute Owen held a Zak Galambos shot and two minutes later produced a piece of grand larceny to deny the same player who had an open goal to aim at before the Fife netminder flung himself across his net and got a piece of the puck. Play continued and the Giants claimed that the puck had crossed the line with the referee indicating that play should continue. At the next stoppage the play went to video review but the on ice call was upheld. In the 57^th minute the Giants added the final goal of the night when persistence around the net by Morin enabled him to stuff the puck past Owen who had made a couple of saves in quick succession.

Pic Credits – Jillian McFarlane and Derek Young

Fife Flyers are next at home on  Thursday 26th December when they entertain the Dundee Stars – tickets can be bought online here:  Tickets – Fife Flyers or look out on social media channels for box office opening times.