EIHL | Glasgow Clan 2 Fife Flyers 0

The Premier Sports sponsored Glasgow Clan claimed victory in their first derby meeting with the Fife Flyers in the Motorpoint Elite League action through a solid defensive showing to shut out their biggest rivals on home ice.

Cameron Hough pounced on a loose puck to generate a two-on-none for the Flyers and slid the puck across the crease to Michael Drabek who released a quick shot at the backdoor that looked destined to light the lamp.

An unbelievable sliding stop from Rasmus Tirronen denied Drabek as the Finn dashed a pad across his line to stop the shot from point-blank range.

At the other end of the ice, Glasgow were struggling to break through a stubborn Fife defence as almost every pass and shot in the offensive zone seemed to get blocked.

The Clan did get on the end of some fortunate bounces though with Rob Lachowicz skating into open ice and getting a shot off at net under zero pressure while Armour was afforded too much space in the slot and dashed at net in a grade-A opportunity.

Both attempts were denied by Jordan McLaughlin though as both netminders quickly stood out as the stars of the show at Braehead.

In the second period, the game opened up with a few more big checks flying in and a lot more long-sustained periods of possession for both sides.

Glasgow had the majority of the scoring chances throughout the first 40 minutes but the best scoring chances were falling to Fife in a really even game which both head coaches dubbed “playoff hockey style” in their post-match interviews.

Cade Neilson stepped up for the Clan in the 43rd minute of play to break the deadlock as Ross Armour flicked the puck out from behind McLaighlin’s net to Neilson out front all alone to sling it five hole and grant the hosts the first lead.

The Flyers pushed back hard in search of an equaliser, with Evan Dougherty and Garet Hunt ramping up the physicality for their side.

Miika Partanen set up Hunt with a glorious chance in close from the right circle in the third period, as the captain let go of a first-time blast on a wide look at net from two feet out, but again Tirronen made a superb save to keep Glasgow in front.

Tirronen continued to pull off highlight reel saves as he made a triple stop shortly after on Kyle Watson who swatted a backhand at two rebound attempts down low but was met by a white pad every time.

Tristin Langan doubled the Clan’s lead with five minutes to go as he picked up the rebound from Reece Harsch’s blue line shot and squeezed it through a sharp angle to beat McLaughlin who had sprung off his line.

Drabek was penalised with 37 seconds to go after he crashed into Tirronen which drew ire from Juho Rautenen and ended up with Drabek slashing Rautanen out of frustration.

The minor penalty put a pin in the game and secured a great derby shutout win on home ice for the Clan as they picked up their ninth point from ten under Jack Skille.