Five things we learned from Fife Flyers' fourth home win in a row

The team is winning and it is also enjoying its hockey.

Here are our five takes from Saturday’s enjoyable and entertaining 6-2 win over Coventry Blaze.

That winning feeling:Four wins on the bounce on home ice have transformed the mood music rinkside.

After a quite horrible start to the season – and some of those performances were watch-through-your-fingers-if-you-dare awful – the players are clearly enjoying playing for each other - and forging a good understanding on the ice. They’re also having fun.

Confidence is key to everything in sport, and it is finally starting to flow along the bench.

Flyers remain a work in progress, but the fans can now see they have a team which seems to be back on track.

If they can land that key centreman signing and strengthen the squad with the right player(s) at the right time, the season could really take off.

Matt Carter:Teams need leaders and Matt Carter is emerging as one.

The former Nottingham Panthers’ skater brings huge experience to the dressing-room, and it’s starting to show on the ice.

He had a fine game against Coventry Blaze, netting two of the six goals and setting up another - you could tell he enjoyed that final period, and those solid returns helped cement a big, deserved win.

He could be one of the keys to progress this season.

Michael McNicholas:

The American forward is rapidly emerging as a fans’ favourite - and a player with bundles of skill.McNicholas’ goals have already been showcased in the league’s weekend top picks, and there are almost certainly more of them to come.

His performances have been at the very heart of the team’s recent performance - a smart, quick-thinking hockey player who could well be one of the finds of the season.

Rinkside soundtrack:

It’s great to see the club support local bands and musicians in a new match night initiative.

Under The Radar is all down to the effort and passion of one fan, Laura McIntosh - and it’s a great platform to promote local talent, such as singer-songwriter Phil Ciarletta, and a chance for the club to forge new links in the community.

A simple idea, but one that the club should be shouting about across its media platforms, which leads neatly on to ...

Selling the sport:Fewer than 1200 fans saw Saturday’s enjoyable game - that’s poor.

The club HAS to start marketing itself properly, and promoting the players whose names are probably still only known within the immediate fan base rather than much wider across what is a hockey town.

They are the team’s ambassadors, and the club has to get them out and about every other day meeting fans, doing PR, and driving people to fill those empty seats … because they won’t fill themselves.

It’s been one of the club’s clear shortcomings for far too long – a known issue which now has to be addressed and resolved.

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