Fife Flyers celebrated their first home league win of the season, and their first set of consecutive victories since 24 March 2024, with an overtime triumph against the Cardiff Devils on Sunday night.
The Flyers had an ideal start. A pass from a Keaton Jameson shot fell perfectly to Josh Winquist, who lifted the puck over Christian Stoever just 53 seconds into the game to bring the Fife Ice Arena to life on St Andrew’s Day. Shane Owen then produced a pair of excellent stops in the opening period, one with the glove and another with the pad, to preserve the lead.
“I thought our team was really resilient tonight,” said Flyers captain Garet Hunt. “I thought we played well throughout the game, we responded well when they came out and scored and we stuck with it. That’s the most important part, we’re finding our way as a team and we’re coming together.”
Owen, who made 21 saves in the first period alone, was finally beaten at 8:24 of the second when Kohen Olischefski converted Evan Mosey’s feed to level the game. Fife responded well. Ben Brown kept the puck alive in the offensive zone and Hunt slid a perfect pass across the slot for Winquist to one-time home at 32:38 to restore the Flyers’ lead.
“We’re pretty disappointed with the loss,” said Devils captain Joey Martin. “I think we had a lot of chances, a lot of Grade A chances, but you have to give Owen credit, he made a lot of saves.”
Cardiff tied the game again just 44 seconds into the third when Cedric Lacroix reacted quickest to a rebound off Owen. The Devils pushed hard in the closing stages, but the Flyers’ penalty kill stood firm to secure a point and take the game into overtime.
“I don’t think we’ve ever doubted anything within the locker room,” Hunt added. “Even in the games we’ve lost we’ve had the effort. We keep talking about how we need to stay positive and it’ll come, and I think after this weekend guys are starting to believe that more. We’re buying into what Jamie Russell has been saying, that wins will come. He’s a good coach, and we’re doing everything he’s saying.”
In the extra period, Ian Scheid’s shot produced a rebound that dropped perfectly for Jameson to fire into the net and secure Fife’s second overtime win of the weekend.
Martin concluded: “There’s some inconsistency in our game. It feels like we have a few good games and then take a step back. If we want to be contenders in this league, we need to be more consistent.”
Photo: Flyers Images