Netminder Adam Morrison feels at home with Fife Flyers

The 28-year-old Canadian has put together a string of impressive performances, helped, he says, by feeling part of the club “from day one”.

“This a locker room where everyone gets along,” he says.

“Everybody has always felt a sense of belonging and trust in one another.

“We’ve stuck to that the entire season through highs and lows and that’s part of the sport – coming together as a group.

“Sometimes it’s going to go bad and sometimes it’s going to go really well but it’s just about finding that common goal that allows you to come to work every day and build towards something.”

There’s no doubting the low point of the Canadian’s time so far in Kirkcaldy – the 10-3 thumping from Sheffield Steelers at Fife Ice Arena last month. But Morrison remains philosophical about it.

“I’ve gone through things equally as bad or even worse in my career,” he says of the nightmare hammering. “As a goaltender, it’s a position where, if you make a mistake, the red light goes on and people are aware if you’ve made one.

“So, with that game, I just tried to take what I could from it but I wasn’t going to change my mindset or how I prepare.

“Sometimes those games are going to happen to a goaltender. It’s part of the sport.

“You can’t take anything away from a skilled Sheffield team but, from my standpoint, I didn’t do my job to the level it needed to be done that night.

“But, since then, I’ve continued to come to work and tried to improve every day and learn from that experience.”

Morrison says a run in the team after a few stop-start seasons has been the key to him getting back to his best.

“During my career in North America I had a lot of injuries, so now to be the number one guy and to be given the net has given me confidence. But it’s also allowed me to get comfortable again and return to that form I know I’m capable of. I just needed the opportunity.”

And, when that opportunity arose, Morrison has certainly grabbed it with a superb “man of the match” performance in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Guildford Flames, whose coach singled him out for praise, and a run of form that sees him top the stats league for EIHL goaltenders.

Morrison, naturally, is keen to share the credit.

“From a goaltender’s point of view it’s a team statistic,” he says. “My name may be on the stats line but we take a lot of pride in keeping pucks out of our net and playing good, hard defence.

“There are going to be times where I’m relied on but, quite a few times, I’m going to rely on my teammates. It’s a give and take relationship.

“They step up when I need help and I try and do the same when they need a bit of a boost.

“Every team in this league is good – you’re seeing that in the standings. It’s good to see parity in this league, not just the top four teams rolling over everybody every season. 

“It makes for good competition and it’s healthy for the league as well. It’ll attract bigger imports and hopefully grow the game.”