WEEK 14 of the 2025/26 Elite Ice Hockey League season and the Flyers start the action at home for the second visit of the season from the Coventry Blaze. As it was last weekend there is a match up with the Nottingham Panthers as the Flyers make their first visit of the season to the Motorpoint Arena.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 13th FIFE FLYERS v COVENTRY BLAZE @ FIFE ICE ARENA – FACE OFF 7.00pm
Introducing the opposition & One to Watch!
The Blaze head to Kirkcaldy as one of three teams including the Flyers who have a below .500 record so far in league play. The Midlands side however have been in most games this season but other than the early stages of their Challenge Cup campaign have not been able to string together more than one win. They have already taken two wins from the Flyers this term with identical 4-1 scores and one of the standout players for them has been top scorer Matthew Gleason. The 24 year old American forward Matthew Gleason turned professional with the Blaze in the summer after graduating from the University of St. Thomas (NCAA), where he played four seasons for the Minnesota-based programme. During his time with the team, the St. Paul native tallied 45 points (16 goals, 29 assists) in 72 appearances, and wore the ‘A’ as an associate captain in his senior year. In the most recent campaign, Gleason ranked fourth on the team in both goals and overall points, boasted a +10 plus/minus rating, and recorded a 50% face-off win percentage, winning 189 of 378 draws. His efforts helped lead St. Thomas to a competitive season in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), and his academic dedication earned him All-Academic and Scholar-Athlete honours during his time with the programme. Before joining St. Thomas, Gleason played three seasons at Colorado College (NCAA), contributing 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 70 games. His off-ice excellence was equally impressive, receiving Distinguished Scholar-Athlete recognition and being named to the NCHC All-Academic Team in consecutive years. Gleason’s hockey roots trace back to Cretin-Derham Hall High School, where he left a lasting legacy. He holds the school’s all-time records for goals and points, and in 2020 alone was named All-Metro Player of the Year, Youth Hockey Hub Player of the Year, a Mr. Hockey Minnesota candidate, Suburban East Conference Forward of the Year, and was a four-time All-Conference selection (2017–2020). He was also a member of Cretin-Derham Hall’s Presidents List for academic excellence throughout his high school years.
Last League Visit from Blaze
GALLERY
Pic Credits – Jillian McFarlane and Derek Young
Overall Home League Record Against Blaze
P 33 W 16 L 17 F 92 A 89
Number Crunching
The Flyers are looking for their first win in five games on home ice against the Blaze which equals Coventry’s best ever run of results on the road against the Flyers in all EIHL competitions.
Overall the Blaze have won the last 8 meetings between the teams which is their best run against the Flyers in the EIHL era.
During that run the Flyers have scored 2 or fewer goals in all games and have been outscored 12-42.
Giordano Finoro has scored the Flyers goals in both games against the Blaze this season and only one Flyers player has scored in three consecutive games in all EIHL competitions against the Midlands club – Toms Hartmanis in the 2011-12 season.
The Flyers are 8 for 9 on the penalty kill against the Blaze this season and on the powerplay are 0 for 3.
Coventry and Nottingham have scored the most powerplay goals on the road this season in all EIHL competitions with the Blaze man advantage running at 29.3 percent on opponents ice.
Colton Saucerman has the highest time on ice of any player in a game across the league when he skated 35:35 against the Devils on 21st September.
SUNDAY DECEMBER 14th NOTTINGHAM PANTHERS v FIFE FLYERS @ MOTORPOINT ARENA – FACE OFF 4.00pm
Introducing the opposition & One to Watch!
Having already completed their regular season games against the Panthers the Flyers make their first visit of the season to the Lace City looking for their first win against Nottingham since the 12th of March 2024 which happened to be on Panthers ice. Despite not having found the net in the Panthers three wins against the Flyers so far this season Ross Armour comes into the weekend leading the team in league goals scored. The 27-year-old six foot two Canadian forward joined the Panthers after spending last season with ECHL side Savannah Ghost Pirates and German DEL2 club EC Bad Nauheim. Born in Trail, British Columbia, Armour played college hockey in the highly-rated NCAA for Bemidji State University. He scored 67 points (31+36) during his stint at Bemidji where he played alongside former Panther Adam Brady. Armour was named captain in his final season and secured his first professional contract in March 2023 with the Ghost Pirates. He played 95 times for Savannah, scoring 27 goals and contributing 48 assists for 75 points. Panthers Head Coach, Danny Stewart, said: “Ross is a big centre that can also play the wing. He’s got a real knack for scoring goals and gives us another net-front presence on the powerplay. We lacked that last season and – with Chase Pearson as well – this gives us two guys that do it well. Ross competes hard every night and brings a lot of things to our line-up. On top of his versatility, he can make creative plays and shoots the puck well. But when games are tight, he’s also great in those hard areas.” After starting last season in the ECHL with the Ghost Pirates, Armour spent the latter part of the campaign in Germany with EC Bad Nauheim.
Last League Visit to Panthers
GALLERY
Pic Credits – Nottingham Panthers
Overall League Away Record Against Panthers
P 33 W 10 L 23 F 81 A 117
Number Crunching
The Flyers are looking to snap a 10 game winless run against the Panthers and as mentioned above the last win against Panthers was on the road 21 months ago.
The Panthers have outscored the Flyers 45-12 in that stretch whilst also shutting the Flyers out on three occasions.
Of the active teams the Flyers have their 4th best record on the road in EIHL regular season play against the Panthers.
The Flyers are 10 for 12 on the penalty kill against Panthers this season and 1 for 8 with their own man advantage.
The Panthers on home ice in all EIHL competitions this season are 6 and 6.
The longest points streak of any player so far this season belongs to Panthers Mitch Fossier with an 11 game streak.
Panthers and Steelers both have three hat trick scorers this season which is most of all teams.
Click the image below for your downloadable gamesheet for Saturday’s game against Coventry Blaze
