Fife Flyers
| Fife Flyers | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Kirkcaldy, Scotland |
| League | Elite Ice Hockey League |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Home arena | Fife Ice Arena |
| Colours |
Blue, gold, and white |
| Owner(s) | Kirkcaldy Ice Hockey Club Inc. |
| General manager | Andy McPherson |
| Head coach | Todd Dutiaume |
Blue, gold, and white
Fife Flyers Ice Hockey Club is the oldest professional ice hockey club in the UK, established in 1938. The Flyers play their home games at Fife Ice Arena in Kirkcaldy which has a capacity of just under 3,400 (seated and standing). The arena is home to not only the Fife Flyers, who play in the Elite Ice Hockey League but also to Kirkcaldy Junior Ice Hockey Club. Many of the Flyers' players have come up through the junior ranks and now play at a professional level.
Ice hockey has successfully been a part of the Fife community since the Flyers' inaugural season in 1938.
The Flyers have put together a team of top players from the UK, Europe and North America. They joined the EIHL in 2011. The current head coach is the Canadian Todd Dutiaume who, from the 2016-17 season, has been assisted by Jeff Hutchins.
In late June 2011, the Fife Flyers were accepted into the EIHL, replacing the Newcastle Vipers for the 2011–12 season. The Flyers found the going tough in their first season back in Britain's top flight Ice Hockey League. A combination of using far fewer foreign players and the relative inexperience of the British contingent resulted in Flyers missing the play-offs and finishing in last place.
Despite this, there were positive aspects from their first season in the EIHL. The British players gained experience. The team, led by key players Casey Haines, Derek Keller and Bryan Pitton, was almost unbeatable at home, but struggled to win away games. They finished the league in 7th place which was a net 8th for the play-offs because, although the conference winners Hull had finished in 8th place in the league, by virtue of winning the conference, they were seeded second. Fife went on to play the eventual treble, beating Nottingham Panthers over two hotly contested legs, winning 4–2 at home before losing 3–0 in Nottingham and leaving the year's play-offs. Controversial refereeing calls also hampered their playoff campaign.
The team had renewed vigour in the 2013–14 season. A squad overhaul meant only two foreign players return from the previous year, Bobby Chaumont and Danny Stewart. The start of the season was poor and continued through the winter. Changes were made in February and the team's form improved significantly. The ensuing successful run allowed them to gain entry to the play-offs in the very last game of the season. They then beat the Gardiner Conference champions, the Dundee Stars 8–4 on aggregate and made the final four play-off finals in Nottingham. The semi-final, against the runaway league winners Belfast Giants, was a fiercely contested match but the Giants won 1–0.
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