The Flyers travelled to Belfast for the first time this season with just an outside chance of Challenge Cup qualification. The Giants with a win would all but confirm top spot in the group and a seeded place in the semi finals with the Flyers then being officially eliminated. The Flyers were hit by further injury woes as they were without Austin Farley, Maxim Musorov and Drake Pilon along with long term absentee Johnny Curran. Jānis Voris was given his second start in net. The Giants had similar injury issues and were missing Joe Cassetti, Bobo Carpenter, Mike Lee and two players Mason Alderson, Mack Stewart and Rhodes Mitchell-King.

The Giants were quickly out of the traps and they generated the first chance of the game when Voris made a save from Ben Lake just shy of 30 seconds into the game. Voris was again in action when he had to deal with an Elijiah Barriga shot from the circles and then he had to deny Scott Conway who was in a downlow position. The Flyers keeper made another save in the 3^rd minute when he turned away a huge blast from the right wing by Pierre-Olivier Morin. It was non stop pressure from the Giant who had played the entire time in the Flyers zone from the opening face of until Voris was able to hold the puck and get a whistle with 3:30 on the clock. In the 5^th minute the Flyers first foray into the Giants zone saw Patrick Kyte go to the net and collide with Jackson Whistle who looked a little shaken up afterwards. The Flyers stunned the home crowd in the 7th minute when Lucas Chiodo and Michael Cichy combined with the latter feeding the puck out front from behind the net and Phélix Martineau showed great hands to deke around Whistle and find the net. In the 9^th minute Olivier LeBlanc made a great shot block and the puck was fed to Ryan Foss on a stretch pass but his shot was snagged by Whistle who was at the top of his crease. A shot from Noah Delmas in the 10th minute handcuffed Whistle who fought off the puck as the visitors grew into the game. Moments later however the Giants missed a great chance when Ciaran Long fired the puck wide from a good position  in front of the net. In the 11^th minute Conway fanned on his attempted shot at the top of the crease and the puck fluttered wide of goal. JJ Piccinich then found the side netting from a dangerous position. The Flyers doubled their lead in the 13th minute when Tyler Heidt took the puck into the high slot and let a shot go, Whistle got a piece of it but it bounced behind him and hit James Spence before rolling into the net for his first ever Flyers goal. The Flyers almost had another a minute later but Whistle came up with a solid stop on Martineau who then fired the puck wide of target from a bad angle. Martineau threatened again in the 16^th minute in a swift counter attack but Whistle gloved his shot. Conway then went end to end with the puck and almost got a shot on goal but Voris poked the puck away from him at the last moment.

The Giants were on the offensive to start the second period and in the 23^rd minute a shot block by Spence hobbled him before Voris was square to a one time shot by Mark Cooper that was turned away into the corner. The Flyers first chance of the period came in the 27^th minute when Martineau picked up the puck following a turnover and he skated out from behind the net and on the turn fired in a shot but Whistle made sure he had all the angles taken away. A minute later and the Flyers once again threatened the Giants net when Madi Dikhanbek and Nikolai Shulga worked the puck up the ice and the shot on Whistle was tipped close in by Spence but stayed out. Voris flashed a right pad to deny Grant Mismash and in the 31^st minute another shot from Martineau saw Whistle again alert to make the stop. The Giants halved the deficit when the Flyers were caught on an odd man rush for the first time in the game as they skated down ice 4 on 2 and Conway feathered the puck through to Piccinich who found the net with a low hard shot from the side of the goal. In the 36^th minute the Giants threatened again when Conway cut in from the blueline and his wrister was labelled for the top corner before Voris gloved it. Moments later the puck was bouncing around in the Flyers paint with Barriga swatting at it but the visitors scrambled it clear. The Flyers went the other way in the 38^th minute when Dikhanbek dropped the puck for Heidt and he skated in on Whistle who made a huge save. The Giants next attacked was halted when Martin Látal was called for a hook as the home side went on the first power play of the night with just under two minutes to play. The Giants controlled the puck in the Flyers zone the entire time with Voris making a beauty of a post to post save to deny Conway on a one timer with 30 seconds of the period remaining. Voris however could do nothing moments later when Gabe Bast found the top corner past the unsighted Fife goalie with just 11 ticks left on the clock.

The Giants struck quickly in the third period when Conway with speed went down the left hand boards and with Mark Cooper wide opened he made the pass for the Giants captain to bury the puck past a helpless Voris. The Flyers first effort on goal in the period came in the 45^th minute when Cichy saw his one timer sticked away by Whistle. The Giants missed a glorious chance a minute alter when Jordan Kawaguchi was all alone in front of Voris but he fluttered the puck wide of the net. In the 49^th minute Heidt had a one timer flash just past the post but the Giants went down the ice and Bo Hanson took the puck to the net which Voris covered up but Kyte was called for a hook on the play. It took 13 seconds of the man advantage for the Giants to double their lead when Conway from the right hand circles beat Voris with a hard one time shot. From the restart the Flyers had a lucky escape as Morin pinged the post. In the 54^th minute the Giants added a fifth but only after two reviews of the play. The initial shot was saved by Voris and as the puck spun up in the air he tried to swat it as players from both sides tried to get a touch. Barriga took a swing and got something on the puck as it drifted towards the goal and Voris sprawled across his line to try to stop it. The refs called goal on the ice without there being a clear view of where the puck was. The referees took a long time to review and they upheld their call. Tom Coolen used his Coaches Challenge to start another lengthy review but the outcome was the same and the Flyers were assessed a minor penalty for the failed challenge. 30 seconds into the Giants power play Lake ran through the numbers of Martineau along the boards and was given a major penalty. Voris left his crease during a melee behind the goal and was assessed a minor penalty.  Skating 4 on 3 the Giants forced a fine pad save from Voris following a Bast shot. Eventually the Flyers went on the power play with three minutes of the major remaining. Heidt had a shot from up top that went wide and then LeBlanc saw his shot go in and out of Whistle’s glove. The Flyers recycled the puck and a fantastic reverse pass from behind the net by Foss found Martineau for his second of the night with 90 seconds remaining. From the restart the Flyers pulled Voris to skate 6 on 4 but they couldn’t fashion another quality chance with Kyte getting the gate for a slash with 19 seconds remaining.

Pic Credits – Belfast Giants

Fife Flyers are next at home on  Sunday 3rd November 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.