WEEK 17 of the 2025/26 Elite Ice Hockey League season and the Flyers see out the Auld year with a derby double header against the Dundee Stars before heading to Sheffield after the bells ahead of welcoming their 2026 first foots the Manchester Storm.
TUESDAY DECEMBER 30th DUNDEE STARS v FIFE FLYERS @ DUNDEE ICE ARENA – FACE OFF 7.30pm
Introducing the opposition & One to Watch!
In what is another peculiarity in the schedule the Flyers and Stars will play their first two meetings in the league campaign to see out 2025. Coming into the festive period the two teams occupy the bottom slots in the league but with 6 meetings ahead both teams will be keen to take advantage to help move up the standings. We feature a new face this season in the Stars line up who became the final addition to their defence in the summer. Justin Bean is a 29-year-old Canadian blueliner who joined the club after spending the past season icing in ECHL with Maine Mariners, where he provided seven goals and 28 assists from the back end across 72 matches. Born in Pickering, Ontario, Justin has played four seasons of pro hockey after graduating from York University and he made his pro debut in the ECHL with Cincinnati Cyclones, before being traded to Wichita Thunder. Bean, who stands at 6-foot and 3-inches tall, also played for Tulsa Oilers in the ECHL before then making his first move to Europe as he joined Hungarian side, DVTK Jegesmedvek for the 2023-2024 campaign and he scored 18 points in 37 games. The Canadian defender has over 180 games of ECHL experience and has contributed 69 points in that time, as well as playing 77 games in the USports League with York and there he accumulated 37 points for the Lions. After adding the final piece of his defensive core in Bean, Stars Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach, Marc LeFebvre, said: “Justin is a big mobile two-way defenseman. He has some offensive upside and plays hard in his own end and does a lot of the little things that coaches like. He rounded out our defence with some much-needed size as we sought to be much harder to play against in our zone this season.” In his 14-year-career so far, Justin has featured in 543 matches, recorded 62 goals, 191 assists and collected 374 penalty minutes, while also playing in 49 playoff games, where he tallied 23 points (5G, 18A) and 58 penalty minutes.
Last League Visit to Stars
GALLERY
Pic Credits – Dundee Stars
Overall Away League Record Against Stars
P 45 W 19 L 26 F 146 A 174
Number Crunching
The Flyers and Stars have both won two of the four meetings between the sides so far this season which were all in the Challenge Cup.
The Flyers have points however in each of those last four meetings.
In league play the Stars have won the last three games at Dundee Ice Arena against the Flyers.
Heading into the end of the years Stars are winless in their last 7 games.
The Flyers have killed 11 of 12 penalties which is 91.67 percent against the Stars so far this season.
With the man advantage the Flyers are 1 for 10 on the powerplay.
Of the 17 home games played the Stars have scored the opening goal on only 4 occasions.
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 31st FIFE FLYERS v DUNDEE STARS @ FIFE ICE ARENA – FACE OFF 4.00pm
Introducing the opposition & One to Watch!
Canadian forward, Matt Boudens was one of the final new additions to the Stars roster last summer. The 32-year-old center, spent the past season icing in the ECHL for three different sides as he started the year off with Cincinnati Cyclones before being traded to Worcester Railers in December and then traded again in February to Fort Wayne Komets. Over the course of the 2024-2025 campaign, Matt played in 36 games and contributed four points, whilst racking up 85 penalty minutes but just the year prior, he had his career best pro season as he totalled 21 points (7G, 14A) for the Savannah Ghost Pirates in 56 ECHL matches and also accumulated 117 penalty minutes. Born in Pembroke, Ontario, the Canadian has also featured in 47 AHL games across four seasons as he had spells with Chicago Wolves and Henderson Silver Knights between 2019 and 2024, where he tallied six assists. Matt, who stands at 5-foot and 11-inches tall, has a pedigree for winning trophies after already lifting the ECHL’s Kelly Cup and he also won three USports Playoff Championships, along with two USports Conference Championships and a pair of Central Canada Hockey League Championships. Boudens lifted his first two trophies with Pembroke Lumber Kings where he scored 63 points in 141 matches between 2009 and 2011 to help them to two CCHL Cups. He then stepped up to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the summer of 2011 and in three years with Drummondville Voltigeurs, Matt scored 125 points from 190 appearances, whilst also captaining the team in his final season. The summer of 2014 then saw the Canadian make the switch to USports as he began a very successful period with the University of New Brunswick Reds as they would win five titles over four years and Matt 84 points during his 181-game collegiate career. Boudens would then turn professional in 2019 with Fort Wayne in the ECHL and would play four seasons with the Komets, during which time he was both the captain and alternate captain, whilst also having his loan spells in the AHL.
Last League Visit from Stars
GALLERY
Pic Credits – Jillian McFarlane and Derek Young
Overall League Home Record Against Stars
P 45 W 21 L 24 F 143 A 139
Number Crunching
The Stars have won on their last 4 visits to Fife Ice Arena in league play.
The Stars have spent 18.27 percent of their gametime this season with a lead which is second least with the Flyers at 12.31 percent.
The Stars have conceded 34 power play goals which most of all teams.
In their last match the Stars snapped a streak of having conceded a powerplay goal in each of their last 15 game which is also the longest sequence of that nature of all 10 teams.
Click the image below for your downloadable gamesheet for Wednesday’s game against Dundee Stars
SATURDAY JANUARY 3rd SHEFFIELD STEELERS v FIFE FLYERS @ UTILITA ARENA – FACE OFF 7.00pm
Introducing the opposition & One to Watch!
Last weekend the Steelers briefly enjoyed top spot in the standings for a day as they went head to head with the then table topping Nottingham Panthers and remain firmly in contention in what at the moment looks like a three horse title race with the Devils just out in front. The final defensive addition to the Steelers roster in the summer was that of experienced blue-liner Jack Dougherty. Dougherty was drafted by Nashville Predators in the 2nd round (51st overall) of the 2014 NHL draft. After turning pro in 2015-16 with Milwaukee, Jack went on to have an outstanding North American career, playing for 8 seasons (314 regular season AHL games) with Milwaukee, Rochester and Belleville before Europe beckoned and Jack moved to Kölner at the end of 2023 in the German DEL. The following season saw a move to Nürnberg Ice Tigers before moving last season to Austria and the Vienna Capitals. Head Coach Aaron Fox had this to say about the final piece on the back end: “Jack is a versatile defenseman that does all the little things right needed to win hockey games. He plays physical, he blocks a ton of shots and is really smart on executing his retrievals and regroups. Jack was a full time AHL D man with European stops in the DEL and Austria. I think he complements our group very well and is someone we rely heavy on for the PK”.
Last League Visit to Steelers
GALLERY
Pic Credits – Sheffield Steelers
Overall Away League Record Against Steelers
P 34 W 3 L 31 F 49 A 160
Number Crunching
The Flyers are looking to break a 20 game winless skid on the road against the Steelers in all EIHL competitions.
During that stretch the Steelers have outscored the Flyers 105-30 and have recorded 6 shutouts.
The Steelers have won the last 5 matches between the sides.
The Flyers last win at the Utilita Arena came on 17th October 2018 when goals from Evan Bloodoff, Brett Bulmer and Paul Crowder secured a 3-1 victory.
The Flyers have killed 5 of 6 penalties against the Steelers this term whilst being 0 for 2 on the man advantage.
Sheffield have scored the most powerplay goals so far this season with 25.
Sheffield have conceded the fewest goals on the road in all EIHL competitions this season with just 29 in 16 games.
Sheffield have spent 14.91 percent of their gametime this season playing from behind which is second fewest to Cardiff.
SUNDAY JANUARY 4th FIFE FLYERS v MANCHESTER STORM @ FIFE ICE ARENA – FACE OFF 5.00pm
Introducing the opposition & One to Watch!
The Flyers welcome the Storm as their first foots for 2026 and indeed their first visit of the season to Fifer Ice Arena with the teams having already completed their regular season in Altrincham. The Storm only have one regulation win in their last 12 matches but have point in 7 of those outings. At the end of November the Storm front office added Dante Hannoun who was described as a dynamic playmaking forward. Hannoun is a product of the major junior leagues (WHL), representing the Victoria Royals and later the Prince Albert Raiders across 314 games. During that time, he amassed 279 points (108 goals, 171 assists) before transitioning into the professional ranks. A brief stint with the Atlanta Gladiators (ECHL) in 2019–20 kick-started Hannoun’s professional career before a move to Italian outfit HC Bolzano. By 2021, Hannoun had become an Italian international, representing Italy for the next three years and making 43 appearances in total. In the summer of 2024, the forward made the move to HK Spišská Nová Ves (Slovakia), accruing 35 points in 48 games. This season, Hannoun has iced for HC Prešov and Odense Bulldogs, impressing in Denmark with 7 points (5G, 2A) in just 9 games.
Last League Visit from Storm
GALLERY
Pic Credits – Jillian McFarlane and Derek Young
Overall League Home Record Against Storm
P 28 W 17 L 11 F 99 A 79
Number Crunching
The Flyers next goal at home against the Storm with be their 100th in EIHL regular season play.
The Flyers have won their last 2 games on home ice against the Storm.
The Storm have a 2 and 1 record so far this season against the Flyers whom they have outscored 16-8.
The Storm have 4 powerplay goals against the Flyers in 15 attempts which is 26.6 percent.
The Storm have scored the third most powerplay goals of all teams so far this season.
The Storm have been on the man advantage 123 times in all EIHL competitions this season which is most of all teams. The Flyers have been on the powerplay 77 times which is least of all teams this season.
The Flyers with the man advantage are 2 for 9 against the Storm which is 22.2 percent.
Keaton Jameson is the Flyers top scorer this season against the Storm with 3 goals in the three games whilst Brady Gilmour has two goals in each of his last three games against the Flyers this season this term.
Click the image below for your downloadable gamesheet for Sunday’s game against Manchester Storm
