The Flyers faced the Belfast Giants for their second and final visit in Challenge Cup action this season to the SSE Arena. The visitors were without Johan Porsberger who was added to the injury list along with Justin Ducharme following the previous night’s action with Christian Purboo got the start in nets. The Giants were without Brandon Whistle and Josh Roach with Alexis Gravel also getting the night off with Jackson Whistle taking the start in goal.

Purboo had the first couple of saves to make in the game but dealt comfortably with shots from distance by Ryan Smith and Reid Irwin. The Flyers had a great chance in the 2^nd minute when a quick up stretch pass by Ian Scheid released Ethan Somoza who couldn’t quite get the puck to settle as he went in on Whistle who made the save. The Giants struck the opener at 4:01 after an odd man break and Marcus Eriksson found Scott Conway who beat Purboo with a low shot as he drove the net. The Giants almost gifted the Flyers a glorious opportunity when Bo Hanson turned the puck over around his net but Whistle was alert to flop and smother the puck. The visitors missed another gilt edged chance in the 10^th minute when a give and go between Somoza and Garet Hunt saw the latter fire his shot wide of the Giants net with Whistle out of position. The home side doubled their advantage at 13:39 when the Flyers turned the puck over at their blueline and Jordan Kawaguchi capitalised to beat Purboo with a shot top shelf. Giants added a third at 16:24 when they worked the puck around behind Purboo’s net and Gabe Bast passed the puck out from where Conway showed his clinical side with the finish. Purboo did well in the 18^th minute to fight off a one time shot from Patrick Grasso from the circles and moments later Brodie Kay tested Whistle from distance with the Giants keeper happy to hold on to his shot. The Giants ended the period on the powerplay as Hunt was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after a challenging JJ Piccinich off the puck. Purboo made one very solid save almost on the buzzer to deny Grasso and not give up a rebound.

The Flyers had 40 seconds of penalty kill to complete to start the second period which they successfully achieved. In the 22^nd minute Conway was sniffing out his hat trick but Purboo made a fine pad save. The Flyers keeper then denied Ben Lake on the doorstep in the 25^th minute and 60 seconds later Jaka Sturm chased down a puck and from the corner fed Keaton Jameson but his shot was deflected wide of the Giants net. Conway had another great chance in the 27th minute but missed the net and the Flyers went the other way with Josh Winquist centering for Somoza but Whistle got over in time to make the stop. The Flyers were back on the penalty kill in the 31^st minute as Winquist was called for a hook and the Giants made their man advantage count as Piccinich went bar down on Purboo. Winquist was soon back in the box after being assessed a slashing penalty but the Giants were too deliberate with their power play and the visitors completed the kill with Purboo only having to deal with one direct shot from Smith. The Giants passed up a chance on a 3 on 1 break in the 35^th minute as Sam Jones was robbed by Purboo. The Giants returned to the power play in the 36^th minute as Lake went to the net and was tripped by Andrew McLean. The Flyers completed the kill without a direct shot on their net. The visitors had a flurry around the Giants net for the final 30 seconds of the period but Whistle was alert to all of the danger.

It was a quiet opening to the final period with Purboo comfortably dealing with a few long range efforts in the opening minutes. The Giants kept ramping up the pressure with Purboo doing well in the 47^th minute to get a piece of a shot close in from Nicolas Guay and Ciaran Long whistled a shot wide of the net with all sorts of time. They did however increase their lead at 48:40 with an individual effort by Grasso who stickhandled his way to the front of the net to bank the puck in off the post. The Flyers had an injury scare in the 50^th minute as McLean went straight to the room after taking a full slapshot top the face and he did not return. Hunt found his way back into the penalty box in the 51^st minute after a slash on Jones and the Giants took advantage as Eriksson set up smith at the back door for him to squeeze the puck past Purboo. The Flyers were on their only power play of the game in the final two minutes as Long caught Scheid with a high stick for a double minor and almost on the final hooter Whistle made a stop on Jeremy Masella to preserve his shutout.

Pic Credits – Belfast Giants

Fife Flyers are next at home on Wednesday 15th October when they entertain the Nottingham Panthers – tickets can be bought online here:  Tickets – Fife Flyers or look out on social media channels for box office opening times.