Three-point weekend for Fife Flyers as team digs deep in home double header

They left it late before seeing off Coventry Blaze 5-3 on Saturday, and followed up with a point in Sunday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Cardiff Devils.

The points were the reward for two big performances which went down well with the home crowd.

Just under 2300 fans watched across the weekend, and if the club continues its progress on and off the ice, that number will surely rise further.

The weekend marked the first goal - indeed, the first point - of the new season for Dillon Lawrence, a debut for new defenceman Seth Bafaro, and a string of sterling performances.

Top billing had to go to the increasingly influential Mikael Johansson, while Janne Kivilahti is fast emerging as one of the team’s tireless workhorses, with Shane Owen looking as dominant as ever between the pipes.

Jeff Hutchins, associate coach, said a benchmark had been set - and reached.

“This is the bare level we need every weekend,” he said. “If we do that then Fife Flyers will be fine.”

Flyers needed to get the weekend off to a winning start, and they did, finally overcoming Blaze with a late powerplay goal followed by an empty netter.

The opening period saw Blaze take a 3-2 lead - Zack Phillips’ fine strike at 19:28 was a huge moment as it kept Fife firmly in this game.

A writs shot from captain Jonas Emmerdahl got them level after 24 minutes, but the fans had to wait until the closing two minutes to celebrate.

Johansson celebrated his crucial goal for 4-3 at 58:20, and when Blaze pulled their netminder, it was their former player, Janne Laakkonen, who delivered the final blow, walking the puck into the empty net in the dying seconds.

Sunday served up an absorbing game as Cardiff Devils came to Fife for the first time this season.

The Welsh side looked rattled at times, and their discipline didn’t hold entirely, but Fife’s powerplay team couldn’t punish them.

Dillon Lawrence shot home from close range with 7:49 played, over Taran Kozun who was on the ground after a collision in front of his net. The Devils challenged the play as goalie interference, but it was upheld after video review.

Cole Sanford tied things up at 15:10, only for Reece Harsch to score on the powerplay with seven seconds left in the opening period.

That lead held well into the third period until a flurry of goals set up a dramatic finish.

Devils pulled their netminder, and the extra man allowed Joey Martin to tie the game at 56:57.

Just 41 seconds , Justin Crandall putting them ahead only to see Flyers pull Owen, and Johansson net with a shot past Taran Kozun.

A howitzer of a shot from Crandall secured both points for Devils in overtime.

Hutchins reflected: “There were a lot of positives from weekend.

“To go behind with one minute left against Cardiff, there was a good response.

“The five on three powerplay in the second - that is what killed us. We let them settle into a tight triangle and didn't shoot enough.

“We worked on it in training and got a few goals away, but it didn’t translate to tonight.”