Flyers fight back from three down, win in shootout

Photo: William Cherry

Fife Flyers pulled off an excellent three-goal comeback before beating Belfast Giants in a shootout to record their first win at the SEE Arena since September 2018. A crowd of 7,314 saw them do it thanks to a shootout masterclass from Kyle Osterberg.

New Flyers goalie Kevin Lindskoug was put straight to work on his debut for Fife, facing 16 shots in his opening period for the Kirkcaldy-based side compared to just three on Jackson Whistle at the other end. Lindskoug made two excellent saves before the puck was eventually poked over the line by Ben Lake tat 9:34 for the only goal of the opening period.

The shot count was level at 12 each through the second 20 minutes, but some quick goals from the Giants put them in control. 17 seconds into the period, Ben Lake deflected a Charlie Curti shot into the net with the goal being given after a video review for a possible high-stick. 83 seconds later, Jeff Baum made it 3-0 and the Giants were cruising. Cue the Flyers' fightback, however, which started at 24:07 through Troy Lajeunesse. He struck against at 34:40 to pull things back to a one-goal game, with the score staying there at the intermission. 

With 7:45 to play in period three, Jackson Whistle pulled off an incredible diving save to deny the Flyers a wonderful tic-tac-toe goal on the powerplay. The Giants were then reduced to three skaters with 7:23 to play, at which point Tom Coolen called his timeout to draw up a play for a potential equaliser. The coach's call paid off with Osterberg levelling the game off a rebound at 53:35. Belfast saw out the remainder of the second penalty and were then handed a golden chance to win the game late on after Lajeunesse tripped Baum in the neutral zone - but to no avail. 

Neither side could find the winner in overtime, and the game was to be settled in a shootout. Only Bobby MacIntyre and Osterberg scored in the opening five rounds, while in sudden death Ara Nazarian cancelled out Osterberg's second successful attempt. The Flyers man stepped up again to score his third of the shootout, and Lindskoug stopped MacIntyre at the other end to earn Fife the win.