Fife Flyers head to Sheffield Steelers with one player out injured

They face Sheffield Steelers tonight (Wednesday) before a long journey across the Irish Sea on Saturday to face Belfast Giants, returning to host Nottingham Panthers in Kirkcaldy on Sunday night.

The games come at a time when the team is struggling to find its feet with six straight defeats including three shut outs in the last five.

Tom Coolen, head coach, planned to go over video of key moments from a poor weekend before the team headed down the M6.

Flyers will ice without injured forward Austin Farley, and there won’t be any new faces on the bench as the coach continues his search for two new players - the maximum he can add under EIHL rules.

Coolen admits it’s a tough time for the team, but said: “We have to fight harder, we have to be better - there is no easy solution.

“We didn’t get into this position often last season when games were tight - we battled through - but this year we are giving up too many goals. Defence is a team issue - all six guys on the ice are a role to play here. Defence wins games. That’s the way we will approach it tonight.” Johnny Curran will travel with the team to Sheffield before undergoing surgery on Thursday after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a game against Dundee Stars at the end of last month. He has been acting as assistant coach to Coolen while sidelines on the Injury Reserve (IR) list.