The Flyers welcomed Cardiff to Kirkcaldy for their second visit of the season. The home side scratched Charles-Antoine Paiement, Aiden Wilson, Ben Brown and Cameron Kenny with James Spence and Joe Lynch added to their lineup. The Devils who have endured a well publicised injury crisis were without Ben Davies, Brett Perlini, Duke Reid, Riley Brandt, Jarrod Gourley and Hunter Shinkaruk.

The opening spell of the game saw neither side create any clear cut chances but with 2 minutes exactly on the clock Evan Mosey played a cross ice pass from the point to Joey Martin who was positioned down low at the back post and he roofed the puck from an angle over Shane Owen. A minute later Owen did well to stop a close in effort from Gleason Fournier. The Flyers responded in the 4^th minute when Austin Farley combined with Kieran Craig who saw his one timer kicked away by Ben Bowns. A minute later and the Flyers went close again when Lucas Chiodo stole in at the back post but couldn’t quite direct the puck on net. Phélix Martineau and Craig combined in the 7^th minute and from close in Craig just failed to get a touch on the puck as it flashed just past the post. Moments later however the Devils doubled their lead when a Cody Donaghey shot rebounded off the pads of Owen and fell nicely for Bradley Schoonbaert who had the easy task of finding the wide open net. Massimo Carozza then fired just wide in the 9^th minute from the slot. In the 12^th minute the Devils went on the first man advantage of the night when Olivier LeBlanc was called for boarding. Jonas Emmerdahl made a big shot block on Josh MacDonald before Owen made a fine pad save on Cole Sanford as the Flyers completed the kill and returned to even strength. In the 15^th minute the Devils took a  decisive three goal lead when Mosey cruised down from the circles and his shot found a space under the pad of Owen.

The second period opened with Owen making double save in the first minute when he denied Tyler Busch with a couple of full stretch leg saves. The Devils were adopting a shoot on sight policy with a lot of their efforts coming from the perimeter but it kept Owen busy on the opening minutes of the period. The Flyers were gradually starting to get more zone time in the Devils end of the ice and Bowns made a terrific pad save on Chiodo in the 28^th minute as the Flyers enjoyed a dominant shift around the visitors net. At the other end a minute later Owen denied Zach O’Brien with a pad save. The Devils almost added another in the 31^st minute but Busch saw his effort sit against the post after Owen got a piece of it and the Fife keeper flopped on the puck to get the stoppage in play. The Flyers went on the power play in the 34^th minute when Schoobaert was called for a trip on Daniel Krenželok. The Devils kill was effective however with the Flyers failing to get anything set up around Bowns net. The home side reduced the deficit in the 38^th minute when Krenželok who had taken some shifts on the wing burst through the centre of the Devils defence and his shot stick side on Bowns found the side of the net. In the 39^th minute Sanford was shut down by Owen but before the buzzer the visitors regained their three goal cushion when Kohen Olischefski went to the net and stick handled the puck around Owen to slide it home. In the dying seconds there was a coming together between Martineau and Donaghey on the edge of the Flyers crease with both receiving double minors for roughing and the Devils player getting an extra 2 minutes for a cross check.

The Flyers power play to start the third saw a drive from Chiodo turned away by Bowns as the Devils completed the kill. Owen flashed the leather to glove a shot to the top corner by Martin in the 43^rd minute. He was beaten however on the next shift when Sanford went top shelf over his stick to add another for the Devils. The Flyers responded with a goal in the 47^th minute when Krenželok fired the puck from the blueline and Carozza net front got a tip on it to beat Bowns. In the 49^th minute Bowns made an instinctive save as a cross crease pass by Emmerdahl intended for Joe Lynch struck a skate an almost snuck past the Devils netminder. In the 51^st minute Carozza was given the gate for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after disputing a non-call. Owen went post to post to stop Olischefski but the Flyers again came up with another solid kill.  Bowns made a blocker save in the 54^th minute on a Krenželok drive from the blue line. In the 55^th minute Martin was penalised for a hook as the Flyers returned to the power play. Craig went close with a scramble around the net and Mark Richardson sacrificed his body twice to make big shot blocks as the Devils returned to full strength. The Devils added another in the final minute when Mosey picked up the puck in the circle and his snapshot found the corner of the net on Owen’s glove side.

Pic Credits – Jillian McFarlane and Derek Young

Fife Flyers are next at home on  Sunday 23rd February when they entertain the Glasgow Clan – tickets can be bought online here:  Tickets – Fife Flyers or look out on social media channels for box office opening times.