In-form Fife Flyers target points and progress in Elite League
Fife Flyers could jump up the league standings this weekend if they take points from two of the teams closest to them.
Tim Wallace’s team have made a hugely positive start to the campaign, and sit sixth after the opening weekends - and while there is a long way to go, it is in stark contrast to last season when the club was stuck firmly to the bottom of the table.
Flyers host third top Manchester Storm on Saturday before travelling down the M6 to face fifth-placed Sheffield Steelers on Sunday.
The return to league action comes on the back of a flurry of Challenge Cup games which saw Flyers post a solid 4-1 road win at Glasgow Clan, but go down 4-3 at home to Dundee Stars.
They then produced a superb performance overcoming injuries and a sickness bug, to defeat Belfast Giants 3-2 in front of an excellent midweek crowd of 2000 fans.
It could also have been a four-point weekend given the chances Fife created against their Tayside rivals, but Wallace stressed the need to focus and deliver their ‘A’ game.
“Eight or nine times out of ten we would have won that game against Dundee,” he said. “We weren’t at our best, but we had good scoring chances and more shots - we just couldn’t bury them. It was one of those nights.” He was pleased with the bounce back and a comfortable road win at Braehead, and wants his team to take the big performances that have delivered - or come close to delivering - against a host of top sides. That includes back to back wins over Sheffield, a thrilling fightback at Nottingham and a big push against Belfast on the road.
“We have to believe in ourselves,” he said. “Our second period against Nottingham we were really good, most of the game against Guildford we were really good, but, overall, we have been playing the right way.”
American netminder Blake Pietila made a winning debut in Sunday’s win at Braehead, and also back-stopped the team against Giants.
He took over between the pipes with Dominik Groh still out with a lower body injury, and impressed his new boss.
“He had a great game and made some big, timely saves,” he said. “When they did generate, he shut them down, and I liked how he covered the puck, had good rebound control and slowed the game down and got a number of face offs.”
Wallace admits he is spoiled for competition in the nets with Jordan McLaughlin also showing his true worth in recent games.
“Dom and Jordan have both had solid starts to the campaign,” he said. “It is good to have competition - that’s pro hockey. It is all about depth, competition and accountability.”