Fife Flyers tough schedule laid bare as coach reveals just four training sessions

A 7-2 defeat at the hands of Belfast Giants left the club with work to do to ensure they make the play-offs as the second half of the season gets underway.

Flyers have won just three of their 16 league games in Kirkcaldy, and shipping four goals in under nine minutes in the middle period saw this match drift out of their grasp.

The challenges of a tough month were laid bare by Hutchins in response to comments on his statement on the team’s limited training sessions during the month. He published its daily schedule which showed six days without ice because of curling.

December also included 13 games days, three recovery days, two off for Christmas and Boxing Day, and just four training sessions at which players were missing through injury and illness. limiting the work that could be done.

Speaking after Saturday’s defeat, he said: “It isn’t easy going down 7-2 at home, but as a group, we have the second half of the season starting and have to take the positives out of this game, get new bodies in and rest up.

“It has been a tough hard road for the guys, but there are strong characters in there and I am confident the group will go forward and rebound from this.”

Hogmanay marked the third meeting of the teams in little more than 10 days, and it saw a clean sweep of wins for Giants, who scored 18 goals and conceded just three in the head to heads.

Flyers now find themselves down in ninth, one point behind Dundee Stars who have a game in hand, and five off seven-placed Manchester Storm who have three in hand. Below them sit Glasgow Clan, three point adrift but with a game in hand.

As the league tightens, the pressure on Fife to fire consistently is set to grow, with the club making clear its goal this season was making the play-offs.

With a lighter January schedule, Flyers have to get healthy and bring in additional players to bolster a squad that has been crippled by injuries - the club had hoped to have a new signing icing on Hogmanay, but a deal has yet to be confirmed.