The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Dundee Stars coach hails impact of new boy Nielsen
Fife outfit score three goals in less than five minutes as Storm tamed
Fired-up Fife Flyers surged into the top four in the Elite League last night thanks to a fifth straight win.
They blitzed ragged former league pace-setters Manchester Storm to move on to 38 points from 26 games.
The 6-2 victory was set-up thanks to a first-period surge in which they scored three goals in less than five minutes.
Fife added two further goals in the second session before Storm opened their account 61 seconds into the final period.
Storm were not helped by the loss of former Braehead Clan star Jay Rosehill who received a two-minute penalty for slashing after 14 minutes.
That led to a game misconduct penalty for the 32-year-old Canadian winger.
It was followed by another game misconduct for the abuse of match officials, a total of 42 sin-bin minutes.
It was Ricards Birzins who started the goal rush after nine minutes, and Evan Bloodoff hit the net just over two minutes later.
Carlo Finucci netted less than three minutes after that to end the first period 3-0.
Peter LeBlanc made it 4-0 after 29 seconds of the middle session, and Ian Young added a fifth after 37 minutes, with only Bloodoff’s goal not being scored on a power play.
Luke Moffatt pulled one back shorthanded for Storm after 41 minutes but Shayne Stockton scored Fife’s sixth, also on the power play, 66 seconds after that.
Andrew McKinney scored Storm’s second after 52 minutes to complete the scoring.
Meanwhile, Danish newcomer Lukas Lundvald Nielsen has made a big impression on and off the ice since signing for Dundee Stars this week.
The 22-year-old was a catalyst for the Tayside team’s success over Scottish rivals Braehead Clan on Tuesday according to coach Omar Pacha.
Odense-born Nielsen joined from Gentofte Stars after playing 143 games in Denmark’s top league.
Pacha said his impact was immediate. He explained: “Having him at the morning skating session (before the game), skating hard and with a smile on his face and showing real energy gets morale up in the locker-room.
“He has a lot of speed and he was flying. He skated well in the game and we hope he jumps on the opportunity to produce here.”
Pacha added: “Lukas has fitted in well and is a youngster with high energy. He is happy to be here.
“He has a lot to learn, but he has made a great first impression.”
Cody Carlson, the former Braehead Clan defenceman, is due to arrive later this week, and the coach continued: “It was a gruelling seven days to find these two players.
“A lot of late nights, a lot of emails and phone calls. The timing was horrendous but I think we have the key pieces to the puzzle.”
He was pleased to continue the club’s recent home run of four wins, and the victory sets Dundee up for this weekend’s double-header against bottom club Edinburgh.
Capitals have lost their last 12 games and they were hammered 10-1 at Guildford Flames on Tuesday.
Stars host Capitals on Saturday (faceoff 7pm) before travelling to Murrayfield on Sunday (6pm) and are closing in on 10th-placed Milton Keynes Lightning who have 25 points from 31 games.