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 On Sunday the Solway Sharks
played host to the Fife Flyers for the final time in regular
season action. After a cagy start, where the men from Kirkcaldy
looked a little jaded from celebrating their Scottish Premier
Hockey League title clincher in the capital the previous night,
the match sprung to life as the clock approached the nine minute
mark. Tim McKay charged down a slack clearance in the Fife “D”
and the puck fell to Struan Tonnar in free ice but as he closed
in on goal Daly had his angles covered and saved easily. A
minute later the Sharks were on the attack again as Kevin Conway
and John Downes played the puck around behind the Flyers goal,
eventually the puck found Bari McKenzie homing in on goal and he
lifted his shot into the net. Two minutes later Fife were level
when Samuels picked up loose possession in the Sharks defence
and picked his spot to shoot past Scott McMeeken. As play wound
down in the first period Tim McKay, Shaun Kippin and Kevin
Conway all went close and Fife always looked dangerous when they
had possession, but there was to be no further score.
 Fife were quick out of the
blocks in the second session and Wilson and Lynch put them
three-one ahead before ninety seconds had elapsed. Although the
Sharks dug deep and began to fight their way back into the
contest it was Fife who added a fourth goal through Beattie in
the twenty-seventh minute. But the Sharks persistence paid off
on the thirty-five minute mark with the teams were reduced to
four-on-four on the ice. Struan Tonnar released Alan Crane on
the right wing with a fine pass from defence and Crane raced up
the boards before unleashing a shot past Marr who had replaced
Daly in the Fife goal at the mid way point in the match. Within
twenty seconds Fife had regained their three goal advantage,
Glasgow fed Wilson from the face-off and he beat two Sharks
defenders before lifting his shot over the diving Scott
McMeeken. The final period was an anti-climax as Fife controlled
things at the back but showed little enthusiasm to attack for
extended periods, while the Sharks toiled to win any quality
possession. Lynch added his second goal of the night five
minutes from the end when he finished off a good Flyers
powerplay move and Glasgow added another for the visitors in the
dying seconds of the game to give Five a seven-two victory.
Sharks scoring statistics were
as follows Alan Crane and Bari McKenzie both one goal and no
assists, Kevin Conway, John Downes and Struan Tonnar all 0+1.
Scott McMeeken in the Sharks goal saved thirty-three of the
forty shots that he faced for a save percentage of 82.50%. Alan
Crane picked up the Border Utilities man-of-the-match award for
the Sharks while Jamie Wilson received the honour for the
Flyers.
The views and statistics in this
report are individual and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the Solway Sharks.
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