The long wait for a win for new-look Fife Flyers is over. They had gone 360 minutes without a victory but Tom Coolen’s men kept their cool to come from behind and edge Scottish rivals Glasgow Clan 6-5 in the West of Scotland after being 4-1 down.
Flyers rallied and clawed their way back to level at 5-5 with 12 seconds of normal time remaining.
The sides could not be separated in overtime then Swedish star Johan Eriksson kept his nerve to net the game-winner in the shootout and snap a confidence-sapping six-game losing streak.
Fife outshot Clan 36-35 and earned their much-needed win despite losing the first session 3-1 and the second 2-1. They dug deep to win the final session 3-0 and then held their nerve.
The two points lifts Fife into eighth position with eight points from ten outings. Clan, sponsored by Aspray Glasgow West, also have eight points but from two fewer games with Dundee Stars in sixth spot with nine points from the same number of games.
Earlier, Flyers opened the scoring through Brady Pouteau after four minutes but Clan levelled through Nate Kallen four minutes later. The home side scored again through Robert Lachowicz three minutes after that and slotted again through the same player after 14 minutes for 3-1.
It became 4-1 after Jake Bolton hit the rigging on a power play after 32 minutes but Collin Shirley reduced the deficit 13 seconds later.
Clan made it 5-2 through Gary Haden after 36 minutes and the scoreline stayed that way until the 47th minute when Troy Lajeunesse counted for 5-3 on a power play and that set up the late drama.
Kyle Osterberg scored Flyers’ fourth with less than seven minutes left and new American defenceman Sean Giles, in his second game in 24-hours after stepping off a plane from North American, levelled late-on.
The teams blanked the nerve-shredding overtime session and that left the stage clear for a hero. Step forward 30-year-old Eriksson and this result is a massive boost only 24-hours after a 6-4 home defeat to near neighbours Dundee Stars.
PICTURE: Tom Coolen on the bench in a recent Elite League game. Picture courtesy of the Elite League
Experienced news, business, arts, sport and travel journalist. Food critic and managing editor of a well-established food and travel website. Also a magazine editor of publications with circulations of up to 200,000 and managing director of a long-established PR/marketing company with a string of blue-chip clients in its CV. Former communications lecturer at a Scottish university and social media specialist for a string of successful and busy SMEs.
