Flyers end two-year wait for win in Guildford
Photo: John Uwins
For the first time in two seasons, Fife Flyers came out of the Guildford Spectrum with a win, running out 4-3 victors on Saturday evening.
"It was awesome. After a long day of travel we came out really well," said Flyers' Shane Owen. "We had a good first period and carried it on from there. I'm proud of the guys tonight. That start gave us the confidence to keep rolling."
Flyers opened the scoring at 6:20 when Logan Neilson fired bar down over the glove of Taz Burman after being set up by Josh Winquist in the corner.
Fife doubled their lead midway through the period after officials reviewed an earlier Ethan Somoza effort and ruled the puck had crossed the line, giving the visitors a 2-0 advantage.
"We had a long travel day back from Glasgow. Our bus broke down and we had to catch a flight early this morning instead, so I think we were quite flat in the first period because of that," said Flames' Tyler Preziuso. "I think we got better as the game went on. We faced a lot of adversity and improved, and I think we can take some positives from the game."
Guildford came out with more energy in the second period and pulled a goal back when Mathieu Gosselin poked home from a scramble just 15 seconds into a powerplay at 24:15.
Flyers restored their two-goal cushion at 32:12 when Logan Neilson set up Keaton Jameson, who beat Burman high over the blocker.
"I thought we killed penalties really well tonight," added Owen. "The guys were blocking shots but also letting me see a lot of pucks out there."
Flames kept themselves in the contest late in the period as Gosselin struck again at 37:34, firing top shelf over Owen to cut the deficit to one heading into the third.
Justin Ducharme made it 4-2 for Flyers 6:39 into the final period, before Gosselin completed his hat trick 90 seconds later to bring Flames back within one.
"Goose is a stud," added Preziuso. "No surprise there with him, he's a great player."
Guildford pushed hard for the equaliser late on and called a timeout with 1:28 remaining, but Owen produced a huge save on a Matt Alvaro tip in the closing seconds to secure the win for the visitors.
"Those final minutes are the ones you play for. It's the most exciting time. It's what you put the work in for," concluded Owen.
