The Flyers made their first trip of the season on league business to Belfast. Returning to the Fife line up was Jonas Emmerdahl wearing number 18 who replaced Noah Delmas after his move to Injured Reserve following confirmation of a season ending injury. Brodie Kay and Aiden Wilson were also out injured but Kieran Craig was back in the lineup. The Giants who hold a commanding lead at the top of the standings were without long term injury victim Joe Cassetti as well as scratches Bobo Carpenter, Grant Mismash and Karl Boudrias.

The home side opened the scoring inside 90 seconds as they dominated the puck in the Flyers end and Jordan Kawaguchi found Captain Mark Cooper with a no look back hand pass and he had a lot of net to shoot at to give the Giants the lead.  The Flyers responded well and Lucas Chiodo broke into the zone in the 3^rd minute to feed Michael Cichy who saw his shot from around the circles flash just wide of the net. The Flyers regained the puck with Tyler Heidt gaining the zone before dropping the puck for Kieran Craig who went cross ice with his pass and Massimo Carozza skated in to fire a shot that found a gap five hole on Tom McCollum. A minute later and the Flyers almost had the lead as Phélix Martineau forced a turnover in the Giants zone and the puck went to Cichy who found Chiodo who rang a shot off the post. The Giants went the other way and Owen made a good save before the rebound also struck metal. Pierre-Olivier Morin almost captitalised on a loose puck but Owen made a block as the opening 7 minutes saw a wide open game with both sides creating lots of chances. In the 8^th minute Martineau set up Cichy for a one timer that had McCollum scrambling and a minute later Cameron Pound had two chances from close range but fired the puck high over the net on both occasions. On almost the halfway mark of the period JJ Piccinich picked the puck up in his own zone and skated deep into the Flyers end before cutting across the ice and went against the grain with his shot which found the corner of the net on the stick side of Owen. The Giants really started to dominate possession at this stage and in the 12^th minute Kyle Osterberg had a big one time blast from above the circles swallowed by Owen. In the 13^th minute Scott Conway was the trailing player in Giants breakout but he fired wide of the net from the slot. David Goodwin on the follow up was denied and finally Owen got a stop in play as he held on to a Piccinich effort. Owen made a kick save on Pound in the 15^th minute. The Flyers had a chance in the 17^th minute when Ben Brown stepped in off the half boards and McCollum was at full stretch to glove his back hand effort. The Giants increased their lead in the 18^th minute when Cooper took the puck to the net passed to Elijiah Barriga who whiffed on his shot which froze Owen and the puck slithered to Morin who found the net.

The Giants put the game to bed in the opening minutes of the second period. They added a fourth goal 23 seconds in when Gabe Bast found space for himself in the slot and his shot squeaked through Owen. 17 seconds later the Giants scored again as the home side passed the puck around smartly and Kawaguchi skated in from the bottom of the left circle and roofed the puck over the shoulder of Owen. In the 24^th minute it was the home side again who were just too crisp for the visiting defence with their puck control and Kawaguchi again on the left side had space this time to fire low past Owen. The Flyers cause wasn’t helped in the 26^th minute when Charles-Antoine Paiement left the game favouring his leg and he would not return. The Giants went on the first power play of the night in the 26th minute when Emmerdahl got the gate for cross checking. A Bast wrister was turned away by Owen who then blocked a Morin one timer and with the penalty time almost elapsed Barriga tried a through the legs effort that was thwarted as the Flyers completed the kill. Back at full strength for less than a minute the Flyers went short handed again as Austin Farley was called for a trip on Ben Lake who had broken through into the Flyers zone. The Flyers once again did a good job on the kill and Giants didn’t get any really clear looks at goal as the visitors once again returned to even strength without any further damage on the scoreboard. The Flyers first shot of the period came in the 38^th minute when McCollum made a solid stop on Martineau and moments later the Giants keeper again had to look sharp as Heidt carried the puck into the zone and from an angle got a shot away that had to be stopped.

The Giants were quick of the mark in the third period when they added another one in the opening minute. Piccinich couldn’t get his shot away in the slot but he slipped the puck behind him to Scott Conway who had a lot of net to shoot at with Owen trying in vain to get across his goal. In the 42^nd minute Patrick Kyte played goalie as he blocked a shot on the line but Kieran Craig was called for a hook on the play that sent the Giants back onto the power play. It was another solid kill for the Flyers as they returned to full strength without the Giants creating any quality scoring chances. In the 44^th minute Jeff Baum tried to go short side on Owen who shut him down. A minute later and the Flyers keeper got a piece of a shot by Goodwin and as the puck spun up into the air it was scrambled clear of the net. The Flyers went on their only power play of the game in the 50^th minute as Ciaran Long sat for a cross check. A shot from Olivier LeBlanc from the high slot was tracked by McCollum who made a fine shoulder save and just as the time was expiring the Belfast keeper made another save this time to deny Kyte. The home side returned to the power play in the 55^th minute when Kyte was called for a cross check on Barriga and this time the Giants made their advantage count. A shot from Morin forced a pad save from Owen but the rebound fell kindly for Kawaguchi to bag his hattrick into a gaping net. Flyers had the last chance of the game when McCollum made  routine save on a shot from distance by Daniel Krenželok.

Pic Credits – Belfast Giants

Fife Flyers are next at home on  Sunday 16th February when they entertain the Cardiff Devils – tickets can be bought online here:  Tickets – Fife Flyers or look out on social media channels for box office opening times.