Fife Flyers fixtures: Hogmanay hockey, double header and new arena to visit

The Elite League schedules were published this morning, and show a calendar of action running from the first week in September through to the start of April.

Flyers open with the Challenge Cup qualifying group which is a straight repeat of recent seasons, and puts them up against Belfast Giants, Glasgow Clan and Dundee Stars. The competition starts on September 12, but the round robin games don’t conclude until the start of November, by which time the league campaign will be well underway.

Sheffield Steelers provide a tough curtain-raiser to the league with back to back games on October 3 and 4, with the teams meeting down south on the Saturday before both making the journey to Kirkcaldy 24 hours later.

Flyers enjoy home ice in a much less cluttered December programme than in previous seasons, with seven of their ten scheduled games on home ice.

The key festive programme is also a marked improvement with games at Dundee Stars on December 28 and 30, while their Tayside rivals are at Fife Ice Arena on Boxing Day, while Belfast Giants will provide the opposition for some Hogmanay hockey in the Kingdom.

There is an away double header to Cardiff Devils and Coventry Blaze in mid February, while Flyers will wrap their campaign with back to back games against Dundee, this time with the final match on home ice.

And fans keen to take in Manchester Storm’s new arena in the city will have to wangle some time off - all three road trips are slated for midweeks.

AUGUST

28 Kyiv Capitals (exhibition) H

29 Hull Seahawks (exhibition) H

SEPTEMBER

5 Kirkcaldy Kestrels (exhibition) H

6 Dundee Stars (exhibition) H

12 Glasgow Clan (CC) H

13 Dundee Stars (CC) A

19 Glasgow Clan (CC) H

20 Belfast Giants (CC) A

26 Belfast Giants (CC) A

27 Dundee Stars (CC) H

OCTOBER

3 Sheffield Steelers (L) A

4 Sheffield Steelers (L) H

7 Coventry Blaze (L) H

10 Guildford Flames (L) H

11 Nottingham Panthers (A) L

17 Dundee Stars (CC) H

18 Glasgow Clan (CC) A

21 Belfast Giants (CC) H

24 Manchester Storm (L) H

25 Sheffield Steelers (L) A

31 Dundee Stars (CC) A

NOVEMBER

1 Belfast Giants (CC) H

6 Glasgow Clan (CC) A

8 Cardiff Devils (L) H

11 Manchester Storm (L) A

13 Glasgow Clan (L) A

14 Glasgow Clan (L) H

19 Manchester Storm (L) A

21 Dundee Stars (L) A

22 Manchester Storm (L) H

28 Coventry Blaze (L) A

29 Coventry Blaze (H) H

DECEMBER

5 Belfast Giants (L) H

6 Cardiff Devils (L) A

12 Nottingham Panthers (L) H

13 Sheffield Steelers (L) H

19 Guildford Flames (L) H

23 Glasgow Clan (L) H

26 Dundee Stars (L) H

28 Belfast Giants (A) L

30 Dundee Stars (L) A

31 Belfast Giants (L) H

JANUARY 2027

3 Guildford Flames (L) A

9 Glasgow Clan (L) A

10 Sheffield Steelers (L) H

16 Cardiff Devils (L) H

17 Sheffield Steelers (L) A

23 Coventry Blaze (L) H

24 Guildford Flames (L) A

29 Belfast Giants (L) A

31 Nottingham Panthers (L) H

FEBRUARY

6 Nottingham Panthers (L) A

7 Belfast Giants (L) H

13 Cardiff Devils (L) A

14 Coventry Blaze (L) A

19 Belfast Giants (L) A

20 Glasgow Clan (L) H

27 Dundee Stars (L) H

28 Nottingham Panthers (L) A

MARCH

5 Manchester Storm (L) H

6 Guildford Flames (L) H

12 Cardiff Devils (L) A

13 Cardiff Devils (L) H

19 Glasgow Clan (L) A

21 Guildford Flames (L) A

24 Manchester Storm (L) A

27 Nottingham Panthers (L) H

28 Coventry Blaze (L) A

APRIL

3 Dundee Stars (L) A

4 Dundee Stars (L) H