Flyers were involved in one of the most physical encounters of the season on Saturday against Charlestown Chiefs with several fights and big hits thrilling the home crowd.

Dutiaume admitted that he prefers his players to avoid the penalty box, but after watching them scrap and battle to a crucial victory in the Celtic Cup clash, he has given them licence to turn to brawn in the race for league titles.

He told SportsPress: "Sometimes we sit back and let other teams push us around and let them get in our goalie's face a bit, because our motto is 'you go in the box, and we'll punish you on the powerplay'.

"But our guys are sick of other teams taking cheap shots at us, and by no means are we a cheap shot team, so if guys want to go out there and start body checking and hitting hard then that's part of the game.

"There were good clean hits on Saturday and the Chiefs started backing down after a while because nobody wants to get hit like that.

"It's exciting for the crowd, the place picked up. There was a couple of fights, some great body checks and some nice goals.

"Coming off the ice, a lot of people were making a lot of compliments and that's nice to hear.

"Sammy (Andy Samuel) said to me at the end of the game that it was nice to hear the crowd getting right into it.

"The crowd here appreciate good hockey and on Saturday they saw good hockey.

"It keeps the coaching staff and the players sharp."

Dutiaume believes that more matches like the entertaining 5-2 win over Chiefs on Saturday will have ice hockey fans flooding back to the rink.

"Sometimes in the weaker games when the team's not trying and you drift off, then the crowds drift off, you see the tumble weeds rolling down the rink," he said.

"On Saturday, there was action right from the start, there was plenty passion in the game and people appreciate that.

"If there was a guy at one of our games for the first time on Saturday, I guarantee he'll be back to watch us again."

Flyers face a tough weekend in the bid to maintain pole position in the Celtic Cup with Saturday's trip to Dumfries to face Solway Sharks followed by a home match against title rivals Dundee Stars.

With Flyers trailing Solway by four points in the Northern League, Dutiaume could be forgiven for placing extra importance on the Celtic Cup, which his team currently leads, but his ambition remains to win both titles.

"We're shooting for both leagues, and it's a tall order because Dundee's an improved team this year and Solway are formidable," he said.
"I like challenging these guys and I don't like them taking second best.

"I don't want any of them to concede a league to concentrate on something else.

"We've always said we want to be in everything and not pick and choose where we play, so hopefully the guys can stay focused and healthy and keep our hat in for both titles.

"We want to give our fans our best performance every night."

For an exclusive interview with Fife Flyers forward Steven McAlpine, pick up a copy of this week's Fife Free Press.