The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Stars book play-offs spot
Elite league: Lefebvre praises players for proving critics wrong
Fife Flyers last night earned revenge for their home defeat by Dundee Stars as they triumphed in the second leg of their weekend double-header.
The Kirkcaldy club won 4-2 at Dundee Ice Arena, 24 hours after a thrilling 7-5 victory for the Stars saw them qualify for the end-of-season Elite League playoffs,
Last night saw Philippe Paquet open the scoring after eight minutes and Kyle Haines made it 2-0 six minutes later.
Kevin Bruijsten netted Stars’ opener after 25 minutes but Paquet and Ryan Dingle made it 4-1.
Mikael Lidhammar completed the scoring after 30 minutes as Fife finished the regular season on a positive note.
Stars coach Marc Lefebvre had asked his men to take the pressure off by winning in Kirkcaldy on Saturday and they got the job done.
The Canadian said: “They have delivered in a number of big games recently which is a credit to them.
“A lot of people wrote us off in January but these guys have bonded and found a way to win hockey games when it really matters.
“That’s great credit to them and now we have to concentrate on playing Braehead with a semi-final place at stake here.”
There were some nervous moments for Stars fans on Saturday as Fife refused to go away.
Justin Faryna opened the scoring after two minutes but Chase Schaber replied less than two minutes later. Felix-Antoine Poulin made it 2-1 before Carlo Finucci responded after 69 seconds of the middle session.
Stars then rattled in three goals in 11 second-period minutes through Joey Sides, Poulin and Scott Brannon for a 5-2 lead as it appeared Dundee wanted it more.
Fife hit back with a double from Mathew Sisca after 64 seconds of period three and Ryan Dingle six minutes later.
But Cale Tanaka settled Tayside nerves with a sixth after 51 minutes,.
Chris Wands popped in Fife’s fifth with 61 seconds left and Fife coach Todd Dutiaume gambled. Netminder Shane Owen was withdrawn to have six skaters but Faryna’s second from a pass from Brett Switzer on an empty net ended the contest.
At Murrayfield, Braehead Clan edged Edinburgh Capitals 4-3 after penalty shots with Matt Beca and Scott Pitt converting and Mat Tipoff and Jacob Johnston failing. The win came after the Glasgow outfit beat their capital rivals 8-5 on Saturday.
Belfast bounced back from Saturday night’s defeat to league winners Cardiff to claim a 4-3 win in the Welsh capital, confirming their place as runners up in this year’s Elite League.
Despite a 3-2 shootout loss to Nottingham in somewhat bizarre circumstances, Manchester Storm fans were still celebrating as their team qualified for the play-offs. The Storm entered the game in eighth place but knew Coventry could still pass them to claim the final play-off spot if results fell in the Blaze favour.