Fife Flyers go into the Boxing Day Elite League clash with arch rivals, Dundee Stars (face-off 18.30) boosted by news that Lucas Chiodo should be back in their line-up.
Interim playcaller, Johnny Curran, is, however, expected to be minus Phelix Martineau and captain Olivier LeBlanc who remain doubtful.
Curran’s men have suffered five straight defeats and skidded to a 6-1 home defeat to Belfast, stretching the winning run by Giants over Fife to seven, when the 29-year-old coached Flyers for the first time, becoming the 31st person to do so in the club’s history to do so.
Keiran Craig, Josh Saunders, Owen Dell and Rhys Edwards all made their debuts and Noah Delmas now remans the only player to have iced in every game so far this term.
Curran, who suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear earlier in the season, is being assisted by Todd Dutiaume, a former head coach and now general manager at Flyers, and Fife bosses have urged fans to be “loud and proud” despite their current difficulties.
There have been no updates from club officials who say they are actively seeking to boost the coaching team, so it would appear that 29-year-old Curran, a Great Britain international, will again be in charge again on game night.
He admitted it has been a whirlwind start but Dutiaume has been a great help since head coach Tom Coolen left last week.
Of course, Stars go into the clash on a high after snapping a poor run with an 8-5 victory, their first since November 24, over Glasow Clan on Tayside, thanks to a 4-2 final period surge, and head coach, Marc LeFebvre, said it was a massive win for the squad who found a way to win.
It was, he added, a timely win going into the Christmas period.
Stars have 15 points from 23 fixtures and are second bottom of the ten-strong table with Fife propping up the rest with six points from 20 starts.
Manchester Storm occupy the final play-off spot with 15 points from 19 games so the only way is up for flagging Fife.
PICTURE: Action from Fife v Belfast last Saturday by Jillian McFarlane and courtesy of the Elite League
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