Fife Flyers shut out on home ice at start of crucial December programme

A 4-0 shut out on home ice to a faster, sharper, more mobile and more fluent Guildford Flames underlined the work that has to be done to knock this roster into shape if it is to keep its play-off hopes alive.

In terms of shots, this may have been a close game, but the reality was Fife offered little cohesive offensive threat and spent far too long in their own zone on a night when the mood in the rink felt one of indifference which is perhaps worse than booing.

Tom Coolen, head coach, said his team has to “maintain the faith” adding: ”We need a home win and get points. Stay with the fight - I see overall improvement in the last three weeks “Tonight our top line just missed on a lot of chances. That line turned pucks over at the blue line which it hasn't done in recent games, and, for whole team there was not a great offensive production.”

In truth, there was little to excite the fans as the lines toiled to make an impact despite some chopping and changing mid game - Ben Brown jumping into the second line, Madi Dibhanbek swapping from forward to defence - against a Flames side that sat comfortably on its ninth minute 1-0 lead.

Flyers could easily have gone into that first interval in much deeper trouble as Flames made the better chances and looked far more likely to ring the red light. Lucas Chiodo saw a chance snatched away before Flames’ opener as Shane Owen spilled a shot, and Ethan Sprang happily bagged the rebound. Shots from Brown and Phelix Martineau were about all Fife summoned in response in a scrappy opening period, and they needed to find a spark in the second. It never came.

Olivier LeBlanc saw netminder Jake Kupsky deal with his long range effort before the powerplay team drew a blank in the 24th minute - one of three openings which yielded precious little - as this game trundled along.

Flames struck on the powerplay at 33:57 with Dan Krenzelok in the bin; Travis Brown flighting in a shot from the centre of the blue line through traffic, and Lewis Hook getting a touch to take it into the net.

And, in all honesty it was looking bleak when they went 3-0 up just 45 seconds before the buzzer. Dan Catenacci delivered a fine finish as they attacked Flyers’ net with pace, and you could sense the increasing frustration in the stands.

The third period saw chances for Chiodo and Brown, but it was one of those nights when a goal felt a mere speck on the horizon. The difference in the teams was summed up after 52 minutes when Noah Delmas was caught in possession on their blue line, and they raced away on a two on one break. Catenacci made a lovely reverse pass to tee up Strang, producing a big save from Owen.

Four minutes later, they broke again, leaving Flyers stranded as Jake Jacome went down centre ice and slotted home the fourth goal. Flyers trailing defencemen could only slam their sticks into the plexi in frustration. At least they managed to hit the glass ...