A buzz around the rink on retro night as Fife Flyers light up another hockey game

Just over 2000 fans in the rink on a Sunday night is an excellent turnout - and it is more and more evident there are many new fans in the seats, together with some back for the first time in many seasons. Their enthusiasm is matched by the team on it.

Troy Lajeunesse rightly led the lap of honour after a huge 4-3 sudden death overtime win against Belfast Giants. His hat-trick counter, which sealed the points, may well have gone to line-mate Teemu Pulkinnen, but no-one was too worried as the applause and cheers came in waves.

And amid it all, a personal milestone - this was Shane Owen’s 300th appearance for the club.

The buzz of retro night saw the team don replicas of their original 1938 strips, while the soundtrack was packed with songs played over the decades. It all made for a smashing finale; the sort that brings fans back again, and again.

The win over Giants lifted them into the top six, in a three-way tie with Glasgow Clan and a Coventry Blaze team that is wobbling badly. All three sit on 47 points, all three have played the same number of games, but momentum is everything in the race for the play-offs, and it sits with Flyers right now.

Below them sit Dundee Stars in ninth, two points behind, with their games in hand also gone.

Tom Coolen, head coach, hailed it as “a big team win - important win.”

He admitted: “We started a little tentatively and we didn't get pressure on Belfast’s net but then we started to get chances. We found a way to battle back from 2-0 and 3-2 and found a way to win - that’s the story of this team. We played well. I wasn’t 100% thrilled with our game and we will talk about that, but we will take the win and the points.”

His Belfast counterpart, Adam Keefe, was straight to the point: “I liked the first two periods, but in third we lost our heads and took four penalties.”