Joe Basaraba hopes scoring spree can help Fife Flyers return to winning ways

While the defeat took the shine from his two excellent finishes, the 26-year-old Canadian was pleased to get back on the scoresheet.

He added another double in the Boxing Day defeat to Dundee Stars last night, taking his tally to 13 in 26 league appearances for Flyers, now he is hoping his scoring spree can help the team return to winning ways.

“I’ll take it,” he said.

“It wasn’t the end result we wanted but I’ve just got to keep this rolling and help the team any way I can.

“It’s been a few games since I potted one, so hopefully that opens up the floodgates.

“Overall I’ve been playing lots so I can’t complain about that. I’m just trying to make the most of my opportunity here.

“I want to score goals, but I’ve got to play a two-way game. I am expected to play defensively as well as offensively.

“If goals come in along the way, that’s great, and I’m looking to score goals as much as possible to help the team win.

“At end of the day, it’s a full effort across the whole rink and it doesn’t matter who scores as long as we’re winning games.”

With over 2200 inside Fife Ice Arena for the Clan match on Saturday, Basaraba was disappointed that the team failed to deliver a performance for the home crowd.

“It’s a tough one,” he said.

“We had a great crowd, and they brought a few fans too, so the barn was rocking.

“To come up short during the Christmas holidays is a tough one, but we’ve got to regroup and bounce up, because we’ve got a big one coming up on the 26th again.”

Things started well for Fife with Basaraba opening the scoring in the sixth minute but a poor second period, during which time Clan racked up a 3-1 lead, proved costly.

“We came out great,” Basaraba explained. “We got a good forecheck established early, and we were playing our cycle game well.

“Things dipped in the second, and if everybody’s not going it’s tough. If they are winning battles that’s where breakdowns happen.

“I liked our pushback in the third, and we were able to get one, but at the end of the day 60 minutes is what it’s going to take. It’s crucial for us that we can’t take a period off.”

Flyers are struggling to rediscover the early season form that took them to within touching distance of first place in the Elite League.

A run of nine defeats in 12 games has dropped them to fourth place, with the top three beginning to pull away, and the teams below closing the gap.

“We know we have a great team, it’s a matter of finding consistency,” Basaraba added.

“If we break it down into the first half before Christmas we have to be fairly pleased overall.

“There was a stretch of games where we didn’t have it, but that’s why the season is 60 games long.

“We’ve got to fight back and crawl back up that leaderboard.

“We’re still gunning for first place, and that’s our main goal.”

After last night’s 4-3 defeat on Tayside, Flyers return to home ice tonight (6.30 p.m face-off) where they will look to end a run of five consecutive defeats to Dundee Stars.

Basaraba said: “We got a couple of days off to unwind, enjoy Christmas, try to spend it with friends or family if they are around, then we’re right back at it on the 26th, and we owe it to Dundee to get it going against them.

“They’ve had our number but we’ve just got to worry about our own game. It’s going to be two battles and we’ve got to be ready for it.”