Flyers lose third-place play-off to Panthers

Fife outfit fail to bounce back from semi-final defeat by Devils in Nottingham

Fife Flyers’ season ended in disappointment yesterday when they lost 8-2 to Nottingham Panthers in the third-place game in the Elite League play-offs at Nottingham.

The Kirkcaldy club went behind to a Jeff Brown strike after four minutes.

Jim Jorgensen was set up by Ricards Birzins and Chase Schaber to level less than three minutes later to cheer the big travelling support.

But Nottingham claimed another two goals in just under two minutes at the end of the opening session.

Luke Pither netted after 15:02 and Zack Phillips made it 3-1 after 16:45.

Carlo Finucci gave the Kirkcaldy club a chance with a strike after 22 minutes, Shayne Stockton and Charlie Mosey assisting, to make it 3-2.

Nottingham then fired five straight goals to take the victory.

The blitz started with an Ollie Betteridge unassisted goal after 26 minutes.

Mark Derlago followed-up to make it 5-2 five minutes later.

Phillips scored his second little more than a minute after that.

Betteridge scored his second after 42 minutes, and David Clark unassisted added an eighth with less than three minutes remaining.

The Flyers’ hopes of making their first Grand Final had been dashed on Saturday with a 4-0 semi-final defeat by Cardiff Devils.

They were taken out despite heroics from man of the match netminder Andy Iles. The 26-year-old New Yorker pulled off a string of great saves.

Fife, the Gardiner Conference champions, playing in their third playoff semi-final, were outshot 38-19 over the 60 minutes but were in the game until a nightmare six-minute spell in the final session when they lost three goals.

Devils went ahead through Tyson Strachan after 35 minutes.

Fife lost a second when Matt Pope was set up by Sean Bentivoglio after 46 minutes.

Just 59 seconds later it was 3-0 with Layne Ulmer sweeping the puck home.

Former Dundee Stars forward Justin Faryna put matters beyond doubt after 52 minutes.

Assistant coach Jeff Hutchins felt the semi-final could have been a different game if they had scored one of their firstperiod chances.

He felt Fife were hemmed into their own zone too much in the middle session.

Toronto-born Hutchins said Devils’ first goal after 35 minutes changed the game.

He said: “We take positives from the season. We made the semi-final, and in the quarter-final we came back from a 4-1 home defeat to win on the road.

“The guys deserved to be here,” he added.

Picture: Dean Woolley. Fife Flyers lost out to Cardiff Devils in the play-off semi-finals.