09/10/24 – Fife hit for seven as Giants remain unbeaten in their Challenge Cup group.
Steves Recap – Game Notes
There was 6 different scorers with 4 players on multi point nights as Flyers fans watched in despair at the effortless Giants rolling through their home team with ease.
It was a night to forget, as the lamp lighting lead to scores going uncelebrated, out of respect to their opponents.
Many fans, not just in Fife, will ask, where do they go from here? This is about as low as it could go, with the excuse of ‘tired legs’ being used and aired, despite three days rest between their last game, another big loss, 5:1 in Nottingham.
12 goals conceded, with one scored screams problems are afoot. It is not just the defensive issues that need to be looked at, they just aren’t scoring goals. Since the last time they played the Devils, their forwards have brought a net return of 1.14G per game.
This is less than the GAA for their next opponent, which is 1.60 (2.30 in all EIHL competitions).
Going to Cardiff on the road is not a keen prospect, as they are looking to use that slate of games as a pretext to their Continental Cup campaign, along with a big celebration marking 10 years of ownership from the coveted ‘Calgary 4’.
Flyers will hit the road with one win in their last 5GP, sitting second bottom in the league and one point off rivals Clan in their CC group.
Jordans View – Games Notes
Let’s start with Coolens basic philosophy.
“We want to skate hard, compete. Compete every shift, every night”. – That was in Coolens first interview for becoming Flyers head coach.
Before tonight’s game it was announced that Flyers were 4 import players down. Okay it sounds bad missing four. However, remember Flyers are carrying two extra imports once again this season, so actually they were only 2 imports down.
Not to forget, James Spence was asked to lace up for Fife in what was potentially the last time this season, covering for Curran, so Fife had 3 full forward lines & two and a half lines of defence.
This was just what Coolen planned for at the start of the season.
So where’s the issue?
Belfast were also playing 3 full lines and 2 spare forward players, meaning one extra player than Fife.
At the end of the first, they [Giants] were 3 up and it was clearly visible how tired Fife were. A stark contrast to how they started.
A few good chances, making Whistle come up with some excellent saves, a puck off the line and a post hit on a breakaway. That was about as good as it got.
Then, the floodgates opened.
In all honesty, it was a very poor night for Flyers, but will there be a bounce back on Friday against Devils? Absolutely not. So, what are the next steps for Flyers?
Changes are drastically needed, the defence could have an extra body, but the main issue is the forwards.
Fife Flyers always play three line hockey, as I’ve stated on the EIHL Face-Off. Three line hockey is hard but it can work, however, players need to give 100% each shift and constantly play 2-way per player, each line.
It is a lot to ask but quite evidently this is not happening. It is not even mid October yet and already the writing seems to be on the wall.
Quick Chirps
Big Minutes, Big Energy
Phelix Martineau lead the Flyers in TOI with 27:11, as the majority of their D went over 24 minutes to cope with the short bench. The ask was big. The result was big, but how will this affect them looking ahead to Fridays game?
The nearest to the Flyers talisman for Giants was captain Mark Cooper at 18:33. It goes to show what they went through on the night. The road team never went into second gear, as Flyers battled up and down the ice.
No full game for Johnny Curran, even though he gave it a try, ending up with just 36s and calling it a day just before the first of seven went into Owens net.
Power-Kills in the Auld Barn
Giants went 50% on the PP advantage as Flyers would go into the locker room ruing those missed penalties, where they created their best chances.
Eventually the game went awry through the Giants patient build up and counter attacks, as the back check failed to stem the tide.
This was evident from the penalties being killed, which sapped the energy and compete from the home team. Giants looked stoic at the back, from Mitchell-King to Roach, they were set up with a plan to snuff out the plays, as Flyers could only make zone entries before getting turned over or being lead into soft giveaways.
It was painful to watch.
Puck Watching
I messaged Jordan during the game asking why do the forwards track the the puck carriers from zone to zone and not make a play?
This happened multiple times, where they sat back off the puck, then allowed a skater to carry in and start to pass east to west, moving the back checking team into each other, easily out of position and their highly coveted goalie floundering to cover across the blue paint.
It wasn’t just defensively.
When they managed to generate some attacking, dynamic and direct offense, then they would ice up at the point, which the forwards would turn to look back at their D.
No movement from the wings, no rotation around the mid slot, eventually, the D would either give away the puck to a rushed pass or their line mates, in a hurry to move somewhere else, would get pinched.
At best, a shot would be blocked, but as they were no where near marking their opponents, or being reactive to the now loose or given up puck, Giants were wheeling out of their zone and going direct to net.
It was deflating to watch, even for a non-Flyers fan.
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