Guildford Flames started 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 an Ian Scheid-forced turnover in the neutral zone gave Anton Karlsson a breakaway, and he passed Justin Fazio to open the scoring.
Guildford responded well to tie at 6:59 when Jake Gravelle’s point shot deflected off a Flyers player and wrong-footed Christian Purboo.
“It was big for us to get that back,” Gravelle said. “We talked about reacting well when we fall behind, and the crowd helped lift us up.”
Despite penalties on both sides, the match remained a draw after one.
The Flyers briefly regained the lead early in the second on 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 advanced it to Logan Neilson, ending in an empty net. Shortly afterwards, Mathieu Gosselin’s shot was tipped by Jack Jacome and trickled over the line to restore Guildford’s lead.
“I think we let Guildford take their chances,” admitted Flyers forward David Booth. “They got traffic and shot 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 went further clear on the powerplay after Fife’s second penalty for too many men, with Cole Ully converting a one-timer. Gosselin rounded out the scoring shortly after, beating Purboo’s blocker.
“We stayed disciplined for the most part and took our opportunities,” Gravelle said. “It got physical late, but we handled it well.”
Fife now turns its attention to Sunday’s meeting with Dundee in a key match in the play-off race.
Fife take on Dundee on Sunday in a crucial game in the race for a place in the play-offs. “Part of the preparation for the next match comes from today’s match,” he explained. “You’re disappointed, but you want to take that energy into the next match. You can’t do anything about the past, but you can do something about the future.”
“It’s been great, I’ve really enjoyed it so far. It’s a beautiful part of the world there in Scotland, I’m very grateful for the privilege of playing in this competition.”
Photo: John Uwins
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