Ice Hockey: Flyers Stung In First Match Of New Year

English National League Division 2 North
7th January 2012
Fylde Flyers 5 - Sutton Sting 6

Period Scores: 2-2, 1-1, 2-3
Shots On Goal: Flyers 61 / 5 goals - Sting: 58 / 6 goals
Penalties In Minutes: Flyers 16 - Sutton 76
Flyers Scorers: Bobby Caunce 2+0, Elvis Veldze 1+1, Mark Gillingham 1+0, Andrew Clark 1+0, Kurtis Hall 0+1, Daniel Fearon 0+1

Flyers MVP: Steve Gilmartin (nm)
Note: Best Kept Secrets were the match puck sponsors for this game!



Report:
Having outshot their high flying opponents by 61 to 58 and with the visiting Sutton Sting players managing to notch up an astoundingly bad tempered 76 penalty minutes, Fylde Flyers will be left wondering how they managed to lose this exciting new year opener at the Sub Zero rink in Cleveleys on Saturday evening.

The game was marred / livened up - depending on your  point of view - by 5x 10 minute miscondut penalties handed out to Sutton players - including 3 all in once go (2 at once to the same player) during a particularly tempestuous third period and another handed out at the end of the game. However, despite frequent superiority of numbers on the ice, the Fylde Flyers had difficulty taking full advantage of the situation as 4 of their 5 goals came from even handed play.

Penalties and bad tempers apart, this was actually a thrilling game to watch with lots of end to end action and played on a knife-edghe throughout. After a tense opening, the visitors scored first on 5.46 before Bobby Caunce hit back with a superb unassisted goal on 7.16 to level things up. Sting edged ahead again on 10.40 but that lead was quickly pegged back by an Elvis Veldze powerplay goal  3 minutes later.

There was never more than one goal difference between the sides throughout this pulsating game - 2-2 at the end of the first period, 3-3 at the end of the second and it carried onlike that into the 3rd period - Sting edging ahead twice more and Flyers pulling them back.

What turned out to be the game winning goal for the Sting came on 51.20 and was, unsurprisingly, a short handed effort. The final 8 ½ minutes of the game were played out at a frenetic pace but the Flyers were unable to find the back of the Sutton net - even pulling netminder Steve Gilmartin to add an extra attacker for the final few seconds.

The Flyers travel to Sheffield for an immediate return match against the Sutton Sting on Sunday evening (8th January). It should make for an interesting encounter...

Watch this space!


Top photo: a tense Flyers "time out" during the 3rd period 

Middle photo: Flyers goal celebration (photo: Adam Tranter)

Bottom photo: Flyers Man Of The Match - netminder Steve Gilmartin (photo: Adam Tranter)

More info: http://www.fyldeflyers.co.uk/ 

http://www.eiha.co.uk/Leagues/EnglishNational/North2.aspx