REPORT: Fife Flyers 4 Glasgow Clan 5 (After Penalty Shots)

by Sam Scouller; photos by Flyers Images

The Aspray Glasgow West sponsored Glasgow Clan came home with a huge penalty shots win over Fife Flyers after a thriller at the Fife Ice Arena.

The home side opened the scoring early on with a delayed penalty goal as Janne Kivilahti knocked the puck into the net at the back door.

Fife doubled their advantage shortly after as Kivilahti bagged his and Fife’s second on the breakaway after a perfect pass from behind the net by Zack Phillips.

Dyson Stevenson got the Clan back into the game with a massive hit as he sent Cochrane over the boards and into the penalty box.

Gary Haden was denied in the first period by an impressive save by Shane Owen as he glided across his line to keep out the Clan’s #23’s backdoor effort.

But that didn’t put Haden off, who got himself on the scoresheet with a close-range rebound after a scramble at the crease.

Dunbar levelled the game just 25 seconds into the second period as Kevin Massy found him at the backdoor with a perfect pass which he sent high over Owen.

The Flyers put themselves back in front with a Chris Lawrence breakaway goal after Phillips caught the Clan defence off guard.

Haden grabbed his second goal of the game to equalise when he tapped the puck in with a first timer at the crease after a Dunbar saucer landed right on his stick.

The game was briefly halted at the start of the third period as Stephen Dixon took a stick to the head and left some blood on the ice.

However, Kivilahti edged the Flyers into a 4-3 lead with another backdoor finish after being set up by Christian Hausinger for his hat-trick.

John Muse did well to keep the Clan in contention as he pulled off a crucial pad save after a Hausinger’s shot found its way through the Clan’s defence.

Haden completed his hat-trick with an electrifying equaliser in the final minute of regulation to send the game into overtime.

After a goalless five minutes of overtime and eight rounds of a penalty shootout, the Clan grabbed the two points as Gabriel Chabot’s sudden-death shootout goal went unanswered, clinching a big road win.