Kyle Osterberg set for return to Fife Flyers line-up after four-game injury absence

The play-off rivals go head to head in a game which could go a long way to deciding who makes the post-season competition, and Flyers have issued a rallying call to fans to pack the rink for Friday night’s match, which faces-off at 7:30pm

Osterberg’s return will be a huge boost to the team as they look to maintain their momentum, and keep the heat on their play-off rivals.

His partnership with Troy Lajeunesse has been instrumental in Flyers’ fortunes – the duo are the club’s top two points scorers – and he will lace up after missing four games through injury.

Osterberg has trained this week, and was on the ice again on Wednesday morning as coach Tom Coolen put his players through their paces.

Flyers have taken points every weekend since the start of the year to stay very much in the race for a top eight spot.

They have drawn level with Glasgow Clan, and trail Storm by three points - with both rivals having games in hand, underlining the importance of the head to head encounters.And while all eyes are on Friday’s huge test, Coolen is sticking to his one game at a time approach - and taking as many points as he can every weekend. Saturday takes his team across the Irish Sea to face Belfast Giants, where Flyers posted a fine 4-3 shoot out win on their last visit.

He pinpointed December 31 as the re-set date as the club emerged from a punishing schedule, complete with changes, and injuries and charged into a rich vein of form.

“Since then we are over .500 hockey, our powerplay is over 30%, our penalty kill nearly 80% and the players’ plus-minus numbers are all moving in the right direction. There are lots of positives right now to our game regardless of any individual results.”

Flyers took two points from back to back overtime losses at the weekend - the one-goal margin becoming a feature of many weekends, underlining how close the league is.

“We are right up there,” said Coolen. “We have to build on it, cut down on mistakes and improve our game as best we can. We will focus this weekend on each game as it comes - everyone can see Manchester is a big game, but I’m not putting any more focus on any one match.

“Manchester are a big, strong team, but I’ll will focus on our own team and on playing the right way and using our skills to our advantage

“We have team that keeps going and keeps working hard. We have five players on 30-point seasons already and I think we could have seen in total. That’s a positive for us.”