2000 BNL Champions: Fife Flyers’ greatest moment

The Kirkcaldy ice hockey club secured the British National League title – and then staged the party to end all parties on ice!

The team, led by player coach, Mark Morrison, and assistant coach, Chic Cottrell, won the silverware with a 4-3 result down south at Milton Keynes Kings on Tuesday, February 22.

The players returned to a breakfast briefing with the media at The Gallery, in Hunter Street, before then preparing for the official trophy presentation on home ice on Saturday 26th.

Slough Jets, the deposed champions, provided the opposition and were swept aside 3-1 before the party got started in earnest.

It was a triumph which meant everything to the players, the coaches and the fans.

Flyers went into the 1999-2000 campaign with fewer imports than any other BNL team, and proved that talented British players – almost all of them trained in Kirkcaldy – could triumph.

To win, they delivered some huge performances, particularly on the road

In the Fife Free Press, Andy Finlay recalled: “We’ve nearly always come through. No-one expected us to keep going it all the way but we did. We could go anywhere and win.”

John Haig revelled in the accolade of league champions.

“I’m glad we showed everybody who wrote us off and really stuck it up to the rest of the league.”

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Flyers opted for quality rather than quantity when it came to imports with record breaking powerplay goalscorer Russell Monteith destroying defences, Mark Morrison leading by example, and huge stats from Todd Dutiaume, while the defensive rock was Ted Russell – supported by a returning Bill Moody who joined in January 2000.

Morrison, who was to go on and be crowned ‘Coach of the Year’ summed up the team’s ethos: “We don’t have imports and Brits. I look at them all same way - as equals.“

Flyers started the season qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Benson & Hedges Cup with a 100 per cent record, only to be then knocked out by Peterborough Pirates.

October saw the team hit its stride with big league wins over Hull Thunder, Guildford Flames and Basingstoke Bison.

A long winning streak was finally ended on November 20 by Peterborough with a narrow 3-2 victory in Kirkcaldy, but then came the game of the season – a first ever BNL 0-0 tie in Slough.

A young Stephen Murphy celebrated the shut out, while Andy Samuel bagged the overtime winner.

A surprise defeat to Peterborough on home ice saw some dissent in the stands which was quickly snuffed out with a 4-1 dismissal of Bison.

Former import, Bill Moody, was signed in January as Morrison strengthened his side for the run-in.

He marked his return with the opening goal in a game against Paisley with the points secured with an empty netter from Dutiaume.

Silverware followed as Flyers claimed the ntl Christmas Cup.

They drew 3-3 in Basingstoke, and then wrapped things up 3-0 in Kirkcaldy – Murphy celebrating his first shut out on home ice.

February saw them add the Scottish Cup. despite the fact the second leg against Paisley Pirates faced off at 10:30pm!

Then attention turned to the league. Guildford were shot down 5-2 in a huge game in front of a big crowd, Morrison bagged 2+1 in a 4-1 victory in Basingstoke , and Paisley were then hammered 10-2 with Dutiaume netting 3+1.

The trophy was secured hundreds of miles from home in Milton Keynes, before Slough were dispatched 3-1 on home ice to trigger the presentations and the party which included free skating and a shindig at Kitty’s.

The fact the team was due in Solihull the next night was pretty much forgotten - the team bus picked up the stragglers from the bar around breakfast time! Barons won the game 6-3.