WEEK 27 of the 2025/26 Elite Ice Hockey League season and the Flyers get the weekend started with a Friday night trip to play the Panthers for the final time this season before they return to home ice to entertain the Manchester Storm who visit Kirkcaldy in back to back weekends.
FRIDAY MARCH 13th NOTTINGHAM PANTHERS v FIFE FLYERS @ MOTORPOINT ARENA – FACE OFF 7.00pm
Introducing the opposition & One to Watch!
The Panthers made a couple defensive additions in the summer to their playoff winning roster from last season. The first six foot one Jarod Hilderman. The 28-year-old joined the club as a playoff champion after last season’s success with French top-flight side Grenoble who beat Angers 4-1 across five matches in the final. Last season’s team-mates included former Panthers players Christophe Boivin and Kyle Hardy as Grenoble beat Angers – the French side led by Jonathan Paredes who coached Nottingham in 2023-24. Hilderman is no stranger to playoff championship success and after winning with Penticton Vees in Canada as junior in 2015, the blueliner won back-to-back with the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2018 and 2019. Before moving to Europe last year, Hilderman played over 150 games in the ECHL with Tulsa Oilers which included 44 points (9+35) in 65 regular-season matches in 2023-24. The blueliner also had two AHL call-ups – with San Diego Gulls and Chicago Wolves – in the 2022-23 campaign. Described by Head Coach Danny Stewart as “a big and strong defenceman that can contribute at both ends of the ice. He defends really well, he’s heavy in puck battles and puts his body on the line in lanes”. The second was 26-year-old Canadian defenceman David Noël who represented Canada at the U18 World Championship in Slovakia just after his 18th birthday in April 2017 and was selected by St Louis Blues in the NHL Entry Draft two months later. The highly-rated blueliner, who was born in Quebec, made an AHL appearance for San Antonio Rampage while still playing junior hockey in the QMJHL for Val-d’Or Foreurs where he spent the final two seasons as captain. He then played four years at the University of Québec-Trois-Rivières in the USports league, winning the national championship in 2022 and the conference championship three years in a row. In his final year of university – the 2023-24 season – he was named captain and scored at just under a point per game, with 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points in 27 matches. At the end of his university studies, Noël signed his first professional contract with Kansas City Mavericks in the ECHL. Last season, he scored 25 points (10+15) in just 29 games for Kansas and then secured a contract with HPK who play in Liiga – the top level of ice hockey in Finland.
Last League Visit to Panthers
GALLERY
Pic Credits – Nottingham Panthers
Overall Away League Record Against Panthers
P 35 W 10 L 25 F 85 A 128
Number Crunching
The Panthers are the only team that the Flyers have yet to record a win against this season.
The Panthers are looking to stretch their winning run against the Flyers to 13 consecutive games.
The last Flyers win against the Panthers was in Nottingham on 12th March 2024 and since then the Flyers have lost on their last 5 visits to the Motorpoint Arena
Ethan Somoza has goals in the last three meetings against the Panthers and is the Flyers top scorer in the fixture with 3 goals with Mitchell Fossier the Panthers top scorer with 4 goals.
The Flyers have killed 14 of 18 Panthers powerplays this season which is 77.78 percent.
The Flyers powerplay against the Panthers is 3 for 13 which is 23.08 percent and the second highest against all teams.
Matthew Marcinew has the hot stick for the Panthers with points in his last 7 games and goals in the last 4 games
The Flyers are looking to record back to back road wins since March 2024.
SUNDAY MARCH 15th FIFE FLYERS v MANCHESTER STORM @ FIFE ICE ARENA – FACE OFF 5.00pm
Introducing the opposition & One to Watch!
We take a look at a couple of additions made this season to the Storm Blueline. 26-year-old Barrie, Ontario native Dennis Busby brings a plenty of experience and a strong offensive presence. Standing 5’11, and weighing 190 lbs, Busby is known for his solid two-way play and leadership qualities. Busby was drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the fifth round (#145 overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He spent his entire major junior career with the Flint Firebirds in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and would go onto play 154 times for the club. His performances earned him a spot with the Tucson Roadrunners, the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate, on an amateur tryout agreement in March 2019. After his time in the OHL, Busby transitioned to USports hockey with St. Mary’s University in Halifax, competing in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference. In 84 games with the Huskies, Busby posted an impressive 66 points (15G 51A) with his senior year running at more than a point per-game earning him a spot on the AUS Second-Team All Star Team. In the 2024/25 season, Busby made his professional debut in the ECHL with the Fort Wayne Komets and later joined the Adirondack Thunder, giving the youthful blueliner a taste of things to come ahead of this EIHL campaign. 26-year-old Canadian defenceman Brendon Clavelle joined the Storm via the now-familiar USports route, having spent five years competing at the collegiate level. A composed and intelligent presence on the back end, Clavelle amassed 111 appearances in USports—experience that will serve him well as he makes the transition to Elite League hockey. Originally from Kapuskasing, Ontario, Clavelle gained valuable AHL experience with the Laval Rocket following the conclusion of his university career. The left-shot defenceman brings a mobile, dependable style of play to Manchester, with strong puck-moving instincts and a clear commitment to his defensive responsibilities.
Last League Visit from Storm
GALLERY
Pic Credits – Jillian McFarlane and Derek Young
Overall League Home Record Against Storm
P 29 W 17 L 12 F 103 A 84
Number Crunching
The Flyers have points in their last 2 games against the Storm and have a 1-2-1 record in the fixture so far this season.
The Storm have outscored the Flyers 21-12 in the 4 games so far this term.
The Flyers top scorer against the Storm this term is Keaton Jameson with 3 goals whilst Brady Gilmour has top scored for the Storm in the fixture with 6 goals and Stephen Johnson has counters in the last three meetings with the Flyers.
The Storm have scored 5 powerplay goals against the Flyers in 19 attempts with the Flyers netting 3 on 12 attempts.
The Flyers next goal will be their 200th in all EIHL competitions against the Storm.
The Storm are 7 and 20 on the road with only the Stars and Flyers with less road wins in all competitions this season.
Storm are the only team to hold a team without a shot on goal in a period this season as they blanked the Stars last weekend in the 3rd.
The Storm have conceded powerplay goals in their last 3 games which ties a season high.
Storm have only 1 regulation loss in their last 9 games.
Click the image below for your downloadable gamesheet for Sunday’s game against Manchester Storm
