Fife Flyers tap into fans’ buzz with double header against Dutch/Romanian teams

Almost 2000 fans turned up to see the team’s opening game against Dundee Stars on Saturday, sparking a 15-minute delay in the face-off, and the club hopes they will return in number after Sunday’s fine 4-0 road win in Tayside.

Dutch side Tilburg Trappers are the visitors on Saturday, with Romanian outfit CSM Brasov taking to the ice on Sunday, complete with former Fife favourite, Chase Schaber.

The games come after another week of training under head coach Tom Coolen who will be keen to see how his players shape up against very different opposition.

Last weekend, they thrilled the fans with two gritty performances against a feisty Stars side, with Fynn Page enjoying a goal and a tilt against tough guy Johnny Walker up in Dundee as he settled into a potential new role playing as a forward. Coolen also pitched young home-based defenceman Brodie Kay into the action on the road and liked what he saw - and he still has imports Aleksi Makela and Casey Gilling to add to the line-up after the delayed arrival of their kit saw them miss the opening weekend.

“Fynn had a heck of a night, and Brodie had a great night too,” enthused the coach. “We executed well against Stars, we had good speed and showed it. We answered the bell, didn’t back off from any scraps and battled and got the big win on Sunday. I saw things from different players and I felt that was what they would bring to the table - almost to man that was what happened.”

Coolen was looking forward to a full week of training as he begins to mould a new-look team ahead of the 2023-24 season starting next weekend with a Challlenge Cup double header against Glasgow Clan; games which could draw bumper crowds to both rinks given the resurgence in Fife’s support.

“For a lot of our guys, the weekend was the first experience of playing in our rink, and it was great to see that support,” said Coolen. “When I went into dressing room and told them there was a delay to get the crowd in, that was a big boost.”