Zack Phillips urged his Fife Flyers team-mates to put thoughts of the Viaplay Challenge Cup final next Wednesday to one side as they seek valuable Elite League points in a tough weekend double-header.
Play-off chasing Flyers, supported by Wolseley, travel to Surrey to face title contenders, Guildford Flames, on Saturday (18.00) and return to The Fife Ice Arena on Sunday (18.00) to meet Viaplay Elite League pace-setters, Belfast Giants.
The Northern Ireland combine are Fife’s opponents in the Viaplay Challenge Cup Final in Belfast on Wednesday, March 1 (19.00), and Phillips said that the squad have had some tough games recently, but Fife have still edged their way back into eighth position in the ten-strong league table and reach the cup final.
The bearded player (pictured courtesy of Fife Flyers and taken by Derek Young v Sheffield Steelers) said: “They are important points (this weekend) and we have showed we can compete with those top teams. We’ll give it our best shot at the weekend and we’ll see how it goes.”
Belfast on Sunday is another massive test and Phillips believes that playing their final opponents will give the squad an indication of where they are and the 30-year-old said: “We have played them a few times this year and we know they are a good team but we will try to show them that we can compete.”
Recent games have seen Fife play another of the title contenders, Sheffield Steelers, on three occasions and now they play two more of the big hitters and Phillips agreed it was good to keep playing high calibre opposition.
The Canadian said: “We played really well against Sheffield in the semi-final, second-leg of the Challenge Cup and confidence is high with the results we had against Sheffield at the weekend and, hopefully, we can carry that into this weekend and then on to Wednesday. “
Phillips is Fife’s top points gatherer this season and has played in 43 games, scoring 18 goals and assisting on 22 other strikes. He does not believe that all the pressure to score is heaped on him and said: “It is a team game and I have had a good year. I’ve been fortunate enough to play with good players and it is not all on me.”
He has maintained his form throughout and Phillips said the secret was that he has been playing the sport for a long time, and is playing with good players including Janne Kivilahti and Mikael Johansson who have helped him accumulate points.
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