The Flyers returned to Planet Ice Altrincham for their third and final visit of the season with the Storm yet to visit Kirkcaldy.  The visitors added new forward Anton Karlsson to their lineup for his debut but were still without the injured Mason Alderson, Jeremy Masella, Vlastimil Dostalek and Justin Ducharme. The Storm who iced a full bench started Evan Weninger in net and scratched Chase Harrison, Dallas Ehrhardt, Drew Deridder and Harrison Caines but also had a debutant in their line up with Dante Hannoun joining after spells already this season in Slovakia and Denmark.

We were 3 minutes into the game before the first shot was registered on either goal with Nick Welsh firing the puck nearside on Owen who paddled it away with his stick. A minute later and the Flyers had their first sight of net when Jaka Sturm tested Weninger who blockered the puck clear. The Storm went the other way and Owen had to be sharp to stop a shot from the blueline by Zach Sullivan. Weninger was out of his blue paint in the 6^th minute to cut down the angle on a drive by Josh Winquist as play swung from end to end. The visitors took the lead at 10:40 when Andrew McLean took the puck up ice and chased down his own dump in and when Karlsson supported him in the corner the puck squirted free for him to take it to the net and he went fore hand back hand to find a hole through the Storm goalie. The Flyers had a lucky escape in the 12^th minute as a shot from the blueline hit Stephen Johnson in the slot and bounced down to hit the base of the post before McLean swept it clear. At the other end Ian Scheid put the puck on net and Weninger snapped the glove to make the save. In the 15^th minute Brandon Cutler from the circles tested Owen who hung on to the puck and a minute later the Flyers goalie was again in action as he made a pad save on a quick transition. The Storm did however level the game at 16:09 as the puck was floated in from Brendon Clavelle from the point and Brady Gilmour raised his stick and got a nick on the puck to have it float over the shoulder of Owen and into the top of the net. The official immediately signaled goal and the play went to a review for a high stick. The refs were unable to review the goal due to a technical problem and so the on ice decision stood. The Flyers almost had the lead again in the 17^th minute as Karlsson got the puck in behind Weninger but Giordano Finoro was just unable to get a touch to knock it over the line before the danger was cleared. The first penalty of the game went against the Flyers as Ben Brown was called for a slash as the puck was given away in the Flyers zone. The visitors kill was strong and they returned to full strength without the Storm registering a shot. With 22 seconds of the period remaining the Storm went back on the powerplay as Johan Porsberger was called for a hook.

The Flyers started the period on the penalty kill and the Storm eventually got the puck set up in the Flyers zone with Gary Haden finding Johnson in the slot who swept the puck past Owen at 20:48. Cutler was binned in the 22^nd minute for a slash to put the Flyers on the powerplay. Clavelle made a great diving block on a Porsberger one timer before Weninger made a stop on Finoro. The Flyers controlled the puck in the Storm zone for almost the entire two minutes with Finoro again denied by Weninger but the Storm escaped unscathed. In the 24^th minute a point shot from Kyle Locke was gloved by Owen. A minute later and the Storm threatened as Hannoun went down the right but Owen sprawled to make the save. The Flyers had a chance in the 27^th minute as Josh Winquist broke in all alone from the blueline but Weninger flashed the leather to make a huge stop. There was a flash point in the 28^th minute as Hannoun threw a hit on Garet Hunt in front of the Flyers net which looked to be after the whistle. The Flyers Captain picked himself up and confronted the Storm player with a few punches thrown and then a scrum. Out of the melee the Storm player was assessed a 2 minute penalty for charging and 2 minutes for roughing whilst Hunt was given a 2 for cross checking plus a 2 for instigating along with a 5 + game penalty for fighting putting the home side on a long powerplay. The early part of the Flyers kill kept the Storm all to the outside and they shocked the home crowd when a quick up from Jonas Emmerdahl found Keaton Jameson who carried the puck up the left wing and almost stumbled before regaining his stride and slipped the puck five hole in Weninger for the shorthanded tally at 29:57.  The Storm still on the power play struck back at 31:20 when a shot from Haden rebounded from Owen and Johnson roofed the puck from close range. The Flyers remained on the kill and once again they caught the Storm with a breakout this time Ethan Somoza released Jameson who skated in on Weninger and produced a composed finish. The Flyers completed the kill. Welsh was penalised in the 34^th minute for shooting the puck over the glass but the Flyers got nothing set up with their man advantage. Back at even strength the Storm had a couple of chances before the end of the period as both Johnson and Cutler broke through but Owen pulled of a save on the first chance and at full stretch saw Cutler skitter the puck past the post. In the closing moments Ian Scheid went coast to coast with the puck and just couldn’t beat Weninger as he drove the net.

All to play for in the third period it was the visitors who took the lead after Storm had missed a great chance firing wide from the slot. The go ahead goal came from debutant Karlsson who was net front and was able to tip a Scheid shot past the Storm goalie. In the 46^th minute Bradley Jenion stepped in off the blueline and wired the puck on net but Owen was well positioned and hung on. Weninger fought off a shot through traffic from the blueline by Brown shortly after. In the 48th minute Owen made a sharp right pad save on Haden and in the 49^th minute Tyler Hinam was called for cross checking to put the Flyers back on the powerplay.  The Flyers powerplay once again had good zone time but they just couldn’t fashion a clear cut sight of goal as the Storm completed the kill. In the 52^nd minute Weninger went post to post to stop Sturm from a tight angle and moments later the Flyers increased their advantage when Finoro fired the puck from the neutral zone and the bounce from the back boards was one timed by Porsberger from the right circles and fooled Weninger to find the net at 51:39. Weninger came up with a huge save in the 54^th minute as Winquist saw his shot from the right wing just go wide by Finoro with net to aim at was denied as the Storm goalie sprawled across his crease. The Storm got one back at 55:47 when Hannoun simply put the puck on net from the high slot and with traffic in front of Owen it squeaked past the Flyers net minder. With just over 3 minutes on the clock the Storm called a time out and resumed play with Weninger on the bench. The ploy worked with the extra skater as Gilmour took the puck to the net and slipped it home with 56:46 on the clock. With time running down the Storm took a penalty when Locke got the gate for a slash.

Flyers had all but 15 seconds of a 4 on 3 powerplay to start overtime and Despres saw a big shot blocked by Clavelle before Weninger dealt with a Winquist one timer as the home side managed to return to even strength. The Flyers however won the game when Finoro won a face off and Somoza then went in and won the puck to feed it back to him and he went to the net and beat Weninger upstairs with a backhand shot.

Pic Credits – Manchester Storm

Fife Flyers are next at home on  Sunday 30th November when they entertain the Cardiff Devils – tickets can be bought online here:  Tickets – Fife Flyers or look out on social media channels for box office opening times.