Fife Flyers won both Challenge Cup games against Scottish rivals Glasgow Clan earlier this season and now they travel to Braehead on Friday (face-off 19.30) on Viaplay Elite League business looking to maintain recent form.
It’s a key clash at the bottom end of the ten-strong table, Clan propping up the league with Flyers in the eighth and final play-off position with eight points from 14 games.
Todd Dutiaume, Flyers’ coach, said: “We have been playing some pretty good hockey over the last month or so but it has not been translating into results which, for the fan base, the playing staff and coaching staff as well, can become very frustrating.
“We have to take heart that we have been playing through a number of key injuries and still being able to maintain a decent level of play and if we trust the system and continue to push on the results will come for this team.
“The big positive at the weekend is that we pushed ourselves into a play-off spot and now we have that we have to refuse to let it out of our grasp and to look at the teams directly above us and start picking away.”
Looking back through the club’s November fixtures, Fife have lost 7-4 at Cardiff Devils, who are fourth, 2-1 after overtime at home to current league pace-setters, Guildford Flames, 3-0 at The House of Steel to Sheffield Steelers who are third in the table.
They travel to Aspray Glasgow West-sponosred Clan, who have five points from 14 games, minus unlucky Sean Cameron who arrived at the start of the season looking to open a new chapter in his playing career in Europe, but has suffered a cruciate ligament injury which rules the Canadian forward out of the rest of the season.
Dutiaume said: “It is a huge blow for Shawn himself, obviously, and we thought he was going to have a huge impact on our line-up, it is also a blow for the club, a guy who was going to come in and provide a pretty much guaranteed level of offence. It is bit skates to fill. We feel for him and we will give him the support he needs but continue to push on with our league as play in this league stops for no man.”
The experienced Canadian was heartened that the medical room was not filled with players after the club’s tough weekend which included a home clash with Guildford and a trip to Sheffield.
He said: “The guys stood up to it well. We have a couple of concerning niggles which we are keeping an eye on but hopefully nothing that will keep anybody out of the line-up.”
PICTURE: Clan v Flyers earlier this season courtesy of Viaplay Elite League and taken by Al Goold
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