Fife Flyers and Dundee Stars in hunt for Elite League points this weekend

Jeff Hutchins has rammed home the importance of playing for a full 60 minutes to his Fife Flyers team.

Tonight Fife entertain Manchester Storm (face-off 7.15pm) and Dutiaume has stressed that Ryan Finnerty’s men will fight until the final whistle.

They desperately need points as Storm sit in a disappointing eighth position in the table.

Fife, by contrast, have won their last two league games and nine of their 16 fixtures in 60 minutes for 24 points.

Coach Todd Dutiaume was delighted with the form shown on Wednesday in the club’s 5-4 overtime road win at playoff and league champions Cardiff Devils.

And the Canadian will once again stress the need to take one game at a time.

This weekend, they only have one game, and Hutchins, the club’s assistant coach, said that having players like Scottish-born Bari McKenzie on the bench as an option helps spread the load.

Hutchins said: “We played well on Wednesday (in Cardiff) but we have to stay level-headed.

“We can’t expect to put the equipment on and go out there and win games – we have to earn the points.

“We have to show up every night and show up on every shift if we are to collect points.

“This is a tough league and you can’t take a night off.”

He added: “Our special teams clicked on Wednesday.

“Overall, the team played well but we need consistency if we want to stay at the top of the table.”

Dundee Stars forward Charles Corcoran insists his team-mates are ready for the challenge of facing Sheffield Steelers for the second time in eight days.

The Tayside team lost 4-0 to the Steelers last weekend but get the chance for revenge when they come face to face again in Dundee on Sunday in their only game of the weekend.

Corcoran is confident Omar Pacha’s men can make up for the Elite League loss.

He said: “As always Sheffield will be a tough test for us on Sunday, but I think the guys have had a great week of practice and are ready for the challenge.

“We were not at all pleased with our showing down in Sheffield last weekend and are excited to play against them.

“When we play the way we want to, we have the ability to beat anyone.”

Corcoran scored his first professional goal on Sunday and despite the loss, he added: “It was nice to get the monkey off the back and score my first pro goal.

“It was a great play by Cowns (Jordan Cownie) to drive the middle and I was lucky to get the puck back after my initial shot.

“It was an unfortunate result, but we are confident in our team”

Looking to the weekend where they have just a single game, the 23-year old said: “It is nice that we will not be on a bus all day for a change.

“However, we know in our room when we have weekends like this, we need to produce results and I think we are heading in the right direction in that sense.

Face-off tomorrow is at 5pm. Fans should note that it will be cash payments only as Dundee City Council is carrying out essential maintenance work at Dundee Ice Arena.

Jeff Hutchins: calling for his players to remain level-headed.