Big week ahead as Fife Flyers look to give home fans reason to cheer

The long-serving import is never slow to provide an honest assessment of his team, and he believed the performance on Saturday night was undeserving of the reaction from the crowd.

With Guildford Flames leading 2-0, loud jeers greeted the end of the second period, however, Flyers fought back to earn a point in overtime, before winning the reverse fixture in Guildford on Sunday to complete a gratifying three-point weekend.

Flyers travel to Nottingham Panthers this Saturday before three home games in six days – Sheffield Steelers on Sunday, Belfast Giants in the live TV game on Wednesday, and Cardiff Devils the following Saturday – provide the team with a chance to reconnect with a frustrated, and in recent weeks, dwindling fan base.

“I don’t think we’re not on the same page,” Dutiaume said of the team’s relationship with the support.

“I think that there’s probably a lack of understanding between sides at times.

“And that’s probably due to us, as an organisation, not having many fan engagement nights where the players are personalised.

“Everybody seems to take umbrage to criticism too harshly in all aspects of life, not just in an ice hockey building.

“I simply said I disagreed with it (booing), because I’ve even watched it back on video, and we played quite good in that game.

“In this day and age, with heavily system based teams, you find in a lot of situations, teams are cancelling each other out, but the level of skill required to do that is incredibly high, because a weak piece of that puzzle and it falls apart, or a guy makes a simple mistake, and the puck ends up in the back of the net.

“Some of the games are free-flowing, which I know our fan base would love to see.

“Other games are stalemates which, certainly to the UK fan base, is probably perceived as boring.

“Whereas, in a North American crowd, and remember we have a lot of North American players, that’s viewed as good hockey.

“It’s finding that balance between being able to be competitive in a heavily systematic-based league, pleasing your fan base, and ensuring that you’re competitive in a market that has such varying degrees.

“Expectations have always been high for this organisation, certainly from the coaching staff, as well as the fan base, but I would hope that the ultimate goal of the management, the ice hockey club and the fan base is to see this team successful.”

After the OT defeat on Saturday, Dutiaume was delighted with his team’s response in Guildford on Sunday, a result which keeps Flyers perched in fourth place in the EIHL standings, three points off the top.

“I said to the team, if you think anybody is going to feel sorry for you, and just tell you that it’s alright, you’re sadly mistaken,” he said.

“We’ve go to tie our skates up, go out tomorrow, play the same hockey game and grind out a result.

“You can use those moments to feel sorry for yourself, or you can use them as a way to solidify the team as a cohesive unit.

“I’m glad the guys chose not to be downtrodden on that long bus trip and pulled out a big two points.”

Flyers are now looking forward to a busy week that will see them take on both Nottingham and Sheffield for the third time this month, before their first league games of the campaign against Belfast on Wednesday and Cardiff next Saturday.

“That’s some powerhouses in this league, and a very big test for this club, but regardless of your league position right now, all teams in this league are good,” he said.