Fife are left to fly flag for Scotland in play-offs –

Flyers will carry Scotland’s hopes in the Elite League play-offs, but they go into the showpiece event on a downer having lost their last three games and slipping to seventh place.

The Kirkcaldy club lost 5-2 at second-bottom Milton Keynes Lightning on Saturday, not the best way to enter the cut-throat, end-of-season event where they will face Manchester Storm in a two-legged quarter-final.

Danick Gauthier’s power play strike after 17 minutes opened the scoring but Lightning turned the game with three unanswered goals between the 27th and 43rd minutes from Ben Foster, Denny Kearney and Tommy Mele.

Chase Schaber pulled the score back to 3-2 after 51 minutes but the Buckinghamshire side closed out the game with a double from Tomme Mele, to complete his hattrick, inside the final three minutes.

Braehead Clan’s play-off dreams were shattered in a 3-1 defeat at Guildford Flames on Saturday.

Jacob Doty opened the scoring after 11 minutes for the visitors but Charles Wells levelled two minutes later and John Dunbar fired Flames ahead less than three minutes later.

Kruise Reddick completed the scoring after 32 minutes.

Clan’s rivals for the eighth and final place in the play-offs, Coventry Blaze, turned the form book upside down when they won 7-4 at second-placed Storm.

Former Fife Flyers star Ryan Dingle netted a treble for Blaze, who now take on league champions Cardiff Devils in the play-offs.

Bottom club Edinburgh Capitals lost 11-2 on Saturday at Sheffield Steelers and completed their season with a 4-3 home defeat by Nottingham last night.

Panthers will now play Belfast Giants in the quarter-finals, while Steelers secured third place – and a meeting with Guildford – with a 5-2 win at Manchester last night.

Attendances for the Elite League and Challenge Cup games passed the one million mark for the first time in Saturday’s programme.