Nostalgia: Fife Flyers on top in 2011 Capitals Challenge back at Elite level

The Kirkcaldy side notched up a 3-2 Challenge Cup win over Edinburgh Capitals to put an end to a four-game losing streak after a start to the season which had been tough going for the league new boys.

It was the highlight of a mixed triple header weekend for Todd Dutiaume’s men, coming in between a heavy Friday defeat to Belfast Giants and their first point of the season in a penalty shot loss away to Hull Stingrays on Sunday.

The clash against capitals on September 24, 2011 was one described as a “must-win” by the Fife Free Press, adding “if they could not beat the perceived weakest Elite League team at home, what hope for the rest of the season?”

The league season had started badly for Fife men earlier in the month with a 2-0 home defeat to Coventry Blaze followed by a 9-0 thumping to the same opponents 24 hours later.

The 9-1 loss to Belfast Giants 24 hours before the Capitals clash was no better – “Men against boys” was the FFP headline – so the victory against Edinburgh was a much needed boost and coach Todd Dutiaume was simply relieved to taste victory.

“That’s a huge monkey off our back,” he told the Press.

“I don’t think we played as well as we have been, but the guys found a way to win, and we really needed it.

”If we lost, that would have set us down a different path I didn’t want to contemplate,”

Edinburgh were dominant for the opening two periods, although Flyers’ cause wasn’t helped by the number of penalties taken by key imports.

Cohen, Siddall and Stewart all spent time in the sin bin, with Stewart thrown out on 37.45 on a 5 + Game major penalty for spearing an opponent.

The visitors were ahead on 13.33 through Rene Jarolin but Flyers levelled short-handed when Mike Hamilton broke away to shoot past static netminder Nathan Craze.

Flyers spent large parts of the second period short handed but netminder Garret Zemlak – who had faced 89 shots in the aforementioned opening weekend – batted away all 20 shots he faced.

He was powerless however to stop Peter Holecko from tipping home a shot from the point with 12 minutes left on yet another Caps powerplay.

Staring another defeat in the face, Flyers were then thrown a lifeline when referee Carson sent two Caps to the bin within seconds of each other, and Cohen equalised with a well placed slapshot to make the most of the five on three.

Then Siddall took matters into his own hands, darting through the Caps defence to shoot for goal, Craze spilled it, and the forward followed up to slot into the net from a tight angle.

Nobody was more relieved with the win of the season than Flyers’ Kyle Horne (inset, left).

The Kirkcaldy-born defenceman had been part of the previous season’s poor Edinburgh Capitals side that ended 2010/11 with a 30-game losing run, meaning the Challenge Cup success over his former side was Horne’s first taste of victory that year.

He may not have won man of the match, but his inspirational performance made it clear how much he wanted the .win

“I’m ecstatic – probably the happiest man in the rink,” he told the FFP, “it’s been a long time since I had a win. It’s got to be some time before Christmas last year.

”It’s been hard to keep my confidence up, but you just have to keep telling yourself it’s going to come.

”The way the results went in the first few games here you think, ‘here we go again’.

”But you have to remember, it’s a big step up for the Fife boys.”

Flyers scoring: Cohen, Hamilton (1+2) Siddall (1+1). Capitals scoring: Holecko, Jarolin (1+0) Menton (0+2) Safar, Valecko (0+1).

SOGS: Fife (Zemlak) 39; Edinburgh (Craze) 16.

PIMS: 46-25.

Attendance: 1171.