Part two of the Flyers and Clan back to back match up saw the visitors make a couple of changes from the previous evening as they were without Alex Forbes and brough back in Austin-Mitchell King. Man of the Match Liam Souliere was given the night off as Sami Aittokallio got the start in net with Lucas Brine his back up. Unsurprisingly the Flyers were unchanged as they remained short benched with Johan Porsberger and Ethan Somoza missing through injury and Garet Hunt serving his final game of suspension.
The Flyers made the perfect start with the opening goal at 01:25. Ian Scheid lined up to take the face off in the left circle and although he lost the draw the puck bounced back off a Clan defenceman onto his stick and he found a gap between the Clan goalie and the short side post to fire it into the net. In the 2nd minute Brett Neumann redirected the puck on the Flyers net from close range but Owen made the save. Owen was in action again in the 6th minute as he stopped a Steven Seigo one timer from the circles. Aittokallio made a save in the 6th minute as Keaton Jameson set up Andrew McLean and the Clan goalie got just enough of the puck to keep it out of the net. Jonas Emmerdahl followed that up moments later with a shot from distance that struck the Finnish netminder and was then cleared. Owen made a blocker save in the 7th minute and in the 9th minute he held on toa rising shot from Hugo Roy who came down the left wing. Brady Risk carried the puck into the Fife zone in the 10th minute but Owen was quick with the glove to snag the snapshot from close range. The visitors went on the first powerplay of the game shortly after when McLean was penalised for a slash that knocked the stick out of an opponents hands. The Clan spent the entire two minutes camped in the Flyers zone and although they created a number of scrambles the Flyers defending was resolute and they returned to full strength unscathed. The Clan did however draw level at 13:22 when Chris McKay found the puck in the right circle and through a screen he shot past the glove side of Owen. Owen made a blocker save to deny Jason Fram in the 15th minute and a minute later Ryan Nicholson tried to go short side on Aittokallio but the Clan keeper was alert and hugged his post. The home side were ahead again at 19:00 when Jameson won a face off cleanly back to Josh Winquist who picked his spot just inside the far post.
Simon Despres carried the puck end to end in the 23rd minute but his shot was straight into the chest of Aittokallio. The Clan keeper made a stick save in the 25th minute to keep a big blast from Ben Brown out of his net. Rowan Mills got a shot away in the 26th minute that the Clan keeper did well to deal with and the visitors transitioned down ice and grabbed the equaliser as they created an odd man rush and the puck movement drew Owen out of position to leave Daniel Tedesco with a wide open net. In the 29th minute a give and go created space for Seigo to test Owen and shortly afterwards Neumann rang the puck off the outside of the post. Mick Messner from the slot forced a stick save from Owen in the 30th minute and Despres had a shot go short side that Aittokallio blocked away moments later. The visitors took the lead at 30:27 as they transitioned quickly and Messner sniped the bottom corner glove side on Owen with a shot from the high slot. Aittokallio came up with a huge save in the 32nd minute as he stopped a Justin Ducharme snapshot from the slot then held his ground as Milan Lucic crashed the net but the puck stayed out. The Flyers got back on terms at 31:26 when Winquist carried the puck through neutral ice and into the Clan zone and his shot from distance beat Aittokallio high on the glove side. Owen had to blocker away a shot from Joe Hazeldine that came through a ruck of players in the 33rd minute and at the other end Brown forced a couple of stops from the Clan goalie with shots from the left wing. Tristin Langan found space in the 36th minute to take the puck to the net but Owen sprawled to clear the danger. The Flyers keeper was in fine form again as he denied Darien Kielb following a turnover in the Flyers zone. The visitors however pounced to take the lead again with just 8 seconds of the period remaining when Owen couldn’t stop a heavy shot from Tedesco for his second of the night.
Things looked bleak for the home side as the visitors stretched their lead at 41:43 following some pressure on the Fife rearguard and Messner found the inside of the far post to double the advantage for the Clan. The Flyers responded by reducing the deficit at 42:04 when Nicholson went down the left wing and put the puck on net from a bad angle and it somehow crept through Aittokallio. The play was reviewed but the on ice decision stood with Mills getting his first ever point in professional hockey with one of the assists. The game was all even at 45:00 as Jameson kept the puck alive down the right wing and his centre found Despres in the slot and he wristed the puck just inside the post on the stick side of Aittokallio. Owen made a couple of saves in quick succession in the 51st minute to stop Tedesco and Seigo and in the 54th minute the Clan went back on the powerplay as Nicholson was binned for a slash on another Clan stick. The Flyers almost came up with a shorthanded goal as Ducharme went in on net and hist shot rebounded to Despres who saw Aittokallio manage to hang on to his shot. Owen denied Langan late on as the Flyers completed the kill. Inside the final two minutes and Ethan Hadden made a great play down the right wing and drove towards the Clan goal when he was taken down to the ice and the referee awarded a penalty shot. Up stepped Josh Winquist and he beat Aittokallio with a wrister into the bottom corner on the glove side at 58:46. The Clan managed to pull the goalie for the extra skater as we entered the final minute and Lucic had a shot at the empty net that drifted wide as the Flyers defended well to take the win.
Pic Credits – Jillian McFarlane and Derek Young
Fife Flyers are next at home on Sunday 1st March when they entertain the Belfast Giants – tickets can be bought online here: Tickets – Fife Flyers or look out on social media channels for box office opening times.
