Guildford Flames began their weekend homestand in strong fashion with a 6-2 win over Fife Flyers at the Spectrum.
Fife struck first just 40 seconds in when a neutral-zone turnover forced by Ian Scheid gifted Anton Karlsson a breakaway, and he deked past Justin Fazio to open the scoring.
Guildford responded well and levelled at 6:59 as Jake Gravelle’s point shot deflected off a Flyers player and wrong-footed Christian Purboo.
“It was big for us to get that one back,” said Gravelle. “We’ve talked about responding well when we go behind, and the crowd helped lift us.”
Despite penalties at both ends, the game remained tied after one.
The Flyers briefly regained the lead early in the second through Travis Brown’s shot from the blue line, but the Flames took control midway through the period. At 12:34, Fazio came out to play the puck and Mason Alderson slid it to Logan Neilson to finish into an empty net. Shortly after, Mathieu Gosselin’s shot was tipped by Jack Jacome and trickled over the line to restore Guildford’s lead.
“I think we let Guildford capitalise on their chances,” admitted Flyers forward David Booth. “They got traffic and shots to the net, and that was the difference.”
Jacome made it 4-2 at 2:53 of the third, firing home from the slot, before Guildford pulled further clear on the power play after Fife’s second too-many-men penalty, with Cole Ully converting a one-timer. Gosselin rounded off the scoring soon after, beating Purboo blocker side.
“We stayed disciplined for the most part and took our chances,” added Gravelle. “It got physical late, but we handled it well.”
Fife now turn their attention to Sunday’s meeting with Dundee in a key matchup in the playoff race.
Fife face Dundee on Sunday in a crucial match-up in the race for a playoff spot. “Part of preparing for the next game comes from today’s game,” he explained. “You’re disappointed but you want to bring that energy to the next game. You can’t do anything about the past but you can about the future.
“It’s been great, I’ve really enjoyed it so far. It’s a beautiful part of the world up there in Scotland, I’m really thankful for the privilege of playing in this league.”
Photo: John Uwins
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