Fife Flyers: a night of farewells and final bows, and the glimpse of a new era

The 1700 fans who turned up created a real buzz around the rink on a night filled with many emotions.

For some there was a nagging fear this may be the last hockey game for some time, with the club up for sale and facing an uncertain future.

On the flip side, there was also a chance to pay tribute to Todd Dutiaume as his jersey number was formally retired, and applaud directors Tom Muir and Jack Wishart as they bowed out after 28 years at the helm.

And there was one last opportunity to say thank you to the players and coaching staff who got this team over the line after the most punishing, difficult season in their history - a team that went to the very edge around Christmas and face a ‘play or fold’ scenario amid incredibly testing moments of upheaval.

The crowd was up 500 on recent weeks, and you could feel the difference in the atmosphere. Imagine if the new owners coming in ignite that fuse? A return to full houses and rocking hockey nights may just be a few months away …

Rewarded with just three wins in 52 league starts, the fans have stuck with this team, and played their part in getting some battered, exhausted bodies through every shift regardless of how high the goals against piled up, or how tough some of the losses were.

In the dressing-room, Johnny Curran and Todd Dutiaume got all the could out of what they had, threw a protective arm around a short-benched, fatigued team, and told them to simply end this season as positively as they could - play for pride, play for the badge, play for the fans.

Flyers, more than any club, deserved a finale with a flourish, and they duly delivered with a smashing 5-4 overtime win against Manchester Storm.

They competed across the 60 minutes and that saw their confidence grow and show glimpses of what might have been. If only Martin Latal hadn’t been concussed in the warm-up to a pre-season game, and then quit, If only the Kazakhs had worked. If only Johnny Curran had played the entire season rather than half a dozen games. If only - two words which will forever hang like an asterisk against this season.

The stats don’t remotely begin to tell the story of what this team has endured over the past eight or nine months - the players went through more tough times than some will manage in an entire career, and yet they stuck with it when it might have been easier to bale.

Speak to the guys and they will tell you, hockey apart, they have loved being in Fife, exploring Scotland and meeting the hockey community here. They will depart this week stronger for the experience - and with more than a few stories to tell back home.

They deserved this final hurrah. They’d come close so many times - think of those games against Coventry and Nottingham - but this time they delivered. The two points from the final home game of the season meant more than just a win.

For one night, ice hockey became fun again. Netminder Janis Voris sent everyone home happy with his post game celebrations which saw him line up half a dozen players in the circle and then knock ‘em down like human skittles as he sent his helmet sliding along the ice. The post-game high fives were accompanied by smiles, Michael Cichy punched the air as the fans chanted - some in Section G event went into full ‘tops off’ mode - and mascot Geordie Munro danced a jig of joy.

The team lined up to embrace Dutiaume at the end of the game, recognising this was also his special night, and they did Cam Critchlow proud as the Manchester skipper headed into retirement. Former team-mates Austin Farley and Jordy Stallard were the first to congratulate him, with Olivier LeBlanc was rinkside to share a moment with a guy he has known since their days together at uni. You’ll never see such an extended, or warmer, reception for a visiting player to Fife Ice Arena if you are there for the next decade or more. Sometimes hockey is more than just about goals and points.

What no-one knew was there was more to come.

As the doors opened and fans headed into the summer recess, the club dropped a statement confirming it had a deal in principle with new owners. It probably missed a trick not grabbing a mic and announcing the news from centre ice while the rink was still packed –that isn’t the directors’ style - but word still zapped like electricity round the seats as the post-game auction got underway.

It also underlined this was a moment in time for the club. The end of one era, the start of a whole new journey.

Tom and Jack left the stage with no fanfare and no bow - they were never going to do it any other way - so it was fitting that Todd Dutiaume thanked them in his jersey retiral speech, and Ali McLaren did so again in the post-game presentations. They have shaped Flyers’ journey for 28 years, and done so much more than many fans will ever be aware of - and they did it without ever commanding centre stage.

Instead they departed with the words “the future is in motion, let’s fly forward - together” ands instantly, a summer of worry became a summer of anticipation.

After an evening of farewells and final bows, new people will come in, with new ideas, new visions, and new energy. The 1700 rinks on Saturday could soon find many more sitting with them with the puck drops again in September.

> Tickets for the reunion of Fife Flyers’ 1985 British champions in a special 40th anniversary live show at Rothes Halls on Friday, May 2, are on sale – it promises to be a night packed with great stories and many special moments as Ron Plumb, Dave Stoyanovich and Danny Brown fly in specially for the show. Tickets here.