Fife Flyers sign Shane Owen with pledge to provide netminder with better support

The veteran goalie’s return will see reunited for new head coach Jamie Russell who coached him at Elmira Jackals a decade ago.

Owen has been a key figure in many Fife rosters since first arriving in Kirkcaldy in 2016.

During the 2023/24 season, he entered Flyers’ history books recording the most appearances by a netminder in the club's 87 year history - and last season he solidified this, recording the most Flyers appearances in all EIHL competitions by a non-homegrown player, a feat which currently sits at 346 games.

And the new coach has pledged to give him the support he needs from a new-look team. Owen faced a barrage of rubber in a traumatic campaign which saw Fife lose all but a handful of games. At times it was his saves which kept them in matches on many nights.

Russell said: “Having coached Shane, I know we have a quality goalie and a great teammate. We will play with improved structure and allow Shane to have better numbers and face less shots. I’m very excited to work with Shane once again.”

The signing heralds the start of building a brand new team, which will almost certainly feature a host of new players.

Max Birbraer, club president and GM, said: : “I know Shane very well as a player, he is a tremendous netminder. I look forward to finding out all about his outstanding qualities in terms of professionalism and leadership as that’s what most of the people I’ve spoken to have said about him.”.