Fife Flyers: late goals end hopes of first four-point weekend of league season
On the back of Saturday’s road win, the talk in the cafe was of a possible four-point weekend. It didn’t transpire, but it took three third period goals from Nottingham Panthers, including an empty netter, to finally kill off Fife Flyers.
There is no doubt that Johnny Curran’s team deserved something from this game. A team that looked worryingly fragile in December has found some self belief, and it showed as they worked hard from the puck drop and led at the end of the second thanks to a sweet short handed goal from Kieran Craig - incredibly the first for the team this league season. It was a case of so near and yet …
There is still a lot of hockey to be played, and Flyers need to finish this wretched season on the most positive note possible. Performances like this are key for players and fans alike.
Flyers came out in a positive mood and saw an instant chance fall to Massimo Carroza with a neat shot on Panthers’ goal. They survived a review on a possible Panthers goal after 13 minutes, and soaked up a chunk of pressure from Panthers to go in goal-less at the first buzzer.
The second period saw more chances for Lucas Chiodo, Phelix Martineau - back to his best and relishing skating free from injury - and Charles-Antoine Paiment, On another night they might have dropped and the result could have been very different.
A goal was always going to come in this open game, and it fell to Panthers at 25:12 as Janis Voris blocked the shot only to be beaten on the rebound by Mitch Fossier.
Flyers’ netminder then blocked Fossier on a huge two on one break, and they finally got on level terms when Carroza shot home from the right at 32:28. The goal was no more than they deserved.
While the team’s powerplay unit couldn’t fire up, they struck short handed with a goal created and executed entirely by Kieran Craig. He chased a puck deep into Panthers’ zone, won the battle for possession and drove to the net. His shot was blocked but he reacted first to flick the rebound past Jason Grande at 38:27,
That raised hopes of a four-point weekend, but Fife found themselves hemmed in their own zone from the start of the third as legs tired and Panthers upped the pressure. They held out until the 50th minute when Tim Docherty saw his shot squirm under Voris’ body, and barely had time to regroup before Kristoff Kontos finished off a fine pass at the back door to the right for 3-2.
Flyers were handed back to back powerplays but a lack of control saw the advantage lost amid some frazzled hockey. With the clock winding down, Flyers threw caution to the wind, called a time out in the final two minutes and pulled Voris. As one late move broke down, Otto Niemenen was fed the puck on Fife;s blue line and he hit the empty net.
While the points went south, Flyers regained more of their pride and took a stack of positives from the game.
Johnny Curran, interim coach, hailed it “another good performance” adding: “We pushed the pace from the start of the game. We talked about managing the clock and being patient - not chasing our chances. We did that in a close game across the entire 60.”
He was pleased with the penalty kill, less so the powerplay - “we are looking for them to be more lethal” but was happy that the fans got to see what he has watched rinkside in practice.
“I am thrilled the guys showed what Todd and I see from these guys. Now the fans have seen that standard we want to get more from them.”