Fife Flyers and Dundee Stars put finishing touches to ice hockey build-up

Dutiaume’s team round off pre-season games with German double-header

Fife Flyers pre-season build-up is completed this weekend ahead of their mouth-watering season opener against Glasgow Clan.

The Kirkcaldy club face German sides Eispiraten Crimmitschau tonight (faceoff 7.15pm) and Tolzer Lowen tomorrow (6.30pm) at Fife Ice Arena.

And the challenge fixtures are the last in the club’s five-game pre-season programme.

Morale is high as Fife come into the clash with Eispiraten on the back of a 2-1 victory over Danish side Odense Bulldogs last Sunday.

That was a boost following a 4-1 home defeat by another Danish side, Aalborg Pirates, and a 2-1 reverse to Canadian touring side, Manitoba Bisons.

Clan visit next Saturday in the first game of the Challenge Cup series and Fife head coach Todd Dutiaume is in the middle of the club’s most extensive build-up in their short Elite League history.

The clock is ticking and Dutiaume has only 120 minutes of action to hone his men ahead of that critical game against rivals Clan.

Fans arriving at the Rosslyn Street rink for this weekend’s double-header will want to be reassured that the newlook squad is taking shape. And they also want to see if the new lines are gelling.

So far, Brett Bulmer, Evan Bloodoff and former Edinburgh Capitals skipper Mike Cazzola have impressed.

Bulmer and Bloodoff know each other having iced together in North America, causing real damage at Kelowna Rockets.

Fife’s other lines have already delivered goals and created chances preseason.

And bringing back highly-rated netminder Shane Owen already looks a sound investment.

He has been solid between the pipes since the first game against Manitoba in which he was under fire only 24 hours after arriving from North America.

Flyers were outshot 21-6 in the second session by hungry Bisons, but ice cool Owen stood tall.

In front of him, Evan Stoflet and Rick Pinkston appear to be hitting it off but Fife await the arrival of former Clan star Scott Aarssen, a man who knows his way around the Elite League.

Aarssen has been delayed because of red tape and it looks as if he will make his debut against his former club next weekend.

That can wait as Dutiaume and his assistant Jeff Hutchins seek more valuable information as they formulate plans ahead of the domestic season.

Dundee Stars play their first games of the new season this weekend – and it will be a tough test for the Taysiders.

EHC Freiburg of the DEL2 are the first opponents for Omar Pacha’s men in back-to-back home games.

“Pre-season has gone well,” said Pacha.

“The guys are really responding well and the work ethic is high.

“The guys were a bit fatigued on Thursday but they still worked hard, they still had a high energy and I saw a lot of good things.

“It is all very encouraging, but we are just looking forward to seeing how we compare to other teams and how we respond to a game situation.”

The Dundee defensive unit has been upgraded in the summer and goaltender Pontus Sjogren will have his first chance to show the fans why he is so highlyrated.

Tonight’s game faces-off at 7pm with tickets still available online and from the DIA box office.

Picture: Edinburgh Capitals. Mike Cazzola has impressed in his first outings as a Flyer.