Mitchell Balmas scored in sudden death overtime as Elite League pace-setters, Sheffield Steelers, sneaked a victory at The Fife Ice Arena.
The 27-year-old Canadian winger or centre ice, now in his third season with Steelers, struck 1min 12sec into the extra session for a 2-1 victory for the men from The House of Steel.
Balmas was set up by Brien Diffley and it allowed the Yorkshire side to come from behind and snatch a valuable road win.
It was battling Fife, playing their third game in three days, who broke the deadlock after 25min 08sec when Vlastimil Dostalek was set up by Mason Alderson and Jeremy Masella.
Tempers flared in the second session but the scoreline stayed that way until 36min 11 sec when Evan Jasper counted after good work from Kevin Tansey and Ryan Tait.
And the sides could not be separated in the final period, hence the sudden death session.
Fife were outshot but only 31-27 and this was a valiant effort against a side with 13 points from eight starts.
The solitary point from taking the game to the extra session gets Fife off the mark in the league after eight attempts but it still means that the Kirkcaldy combine have lost their last 12 games in all competitions.
PICTURE: Jamie Russell, Fife’s head coach
