Fife Flyers
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 over 3000 (seated and standing). The arena is home to not only Fife Flyers, who play in the Elite Ice Hockey League but also to Kirkcaldy Junior Ice Hockey Club. Traditionally many of the Flyers' players have come up through the junior ranks to play at a professional level. Ice hockey has successfully been a part of the Fife community since the  Flyers' inaugural season in 1938. They joined the EIHL in 2011. Fife's current head coach is Canadian Todd Dutiaume who has been assisted by Jeff Hutchins since the 2016–17 season. History. Early years (1938–1980). Fife Flyers' first game was on 1 October 1938 versus Dundee Tigers, with the first goal scored by Norman McQuade and the honour of being the first club captain fell to Les Lovell Snr. The Flyers won the Scottish element of the Autumn Cup for the first time in 1948, felling Falkirk Lions in the Final. They were runners-up in their attempt to defend  the title in a year where they also won the Scottish National League (SNL) for the first time. Fife won the Scottish Autumn Cup back in 1950, this time against the Ayr Raiders, which formed a Double as they retained the SNL title. In 1954 Fife joined the British National League, and in its maiden campaign finished ninth in the eleven-strong division. The League was reduced from eleven to five after all but one–the Paisley Pirates–of the Scottish contingent pulled out. In 1972 Fife won the Northern Autumn Cup–reconstituted as a regional tournament in 1967–before  lifting it again thrice more before the decade was out. They would also achieve success in league action, winning the Northern League two seasons running. The Flyers also played in the one-season Scottish National League in 1981–82, finishing third. British Hockey League years (1982–1996). Fife joined the new British Hockey League (BHL) in 1982. In the 1984–85 BHL season, the Flyers won the Scottish section of the now-national Autumn Cup, before losing the Final at Streatham Ice Rink against Durham Wasps. The Wasps would also pip Fife to the regular season championship, but the playoffs were won by  Fife, who beat fellow Scots the Murrayfield Racers in the final. The Racers' revenge came in the playoff semi-finals the following season. Fife Flyers were beaten Autumn Cup finalists again in 1986–87, losing to the Nottingham Panthers at the National Exhibition Centre, and there would be no silverware in the playoffs either as Durham Wasps defeated Fife, as they would in the following season. The 1988–89 BHL season would see Fife Flyers fail to graduate from their playoff group, sparking a barren run which would take in semi-final defeat to Welsh club Cardiff Devils in 1989–90, a finish  of dead last the year after, and a season outside the top-flight; reaching the BHL final four for the final time in the 1993–94 BHL season. The final BHL season was 1995–96, after which time the Ice Hockey Superleague became the new top British league. Back in the British National League (1996–2005). The Flyers joined the new second tier British National League (BNL) in 1996. The BNL featured a Premier League and a Northern Premier League in the début season. Fife finished top of the Northern Premier League's first round, before winning the playoffs. They lost the Inter -League Final to the Swindon IceLords, however Ice Hockey Journalists UK (IHJUK) awarded both the Coach of the Year Trophy and Player of the Year Trophy to Mark Morrison. The second season saw the conferences of five teams renamed to Northern and Southern Pools, and again Fife came top of their region. In the National Pool they finished sixth out of nine (the Cardiff Devils' second side were excluded from the National Pool), with all ten teams in the end-of-season events. Having won Group B to be Scotland's only survivors, the Flyers were downed in the semi -finals by Hullite club Kingston Hawks. The BNL did away with regional conferences for 1998–99, and Fife Flyers finished fifth in the first round, with Slough Jets top of the nine-strong league. With only bottom club Paisley Pirates failing to make the playoffs, both the Flyers and the Jets qualified from Group A, and both won their semi-final (against Guildford Flames and Basingstoke Bison respectively) to face each other in the Final, which was won by the Scottish club, giving them their first BNL title. Defending their title in 1999–2000, the Flyers were imperious, finishing first both in  the regular season and their playoff group before winning the semi-final, and the Final itself, against Basingstoke Bison. Searching for a three-peat in 2000–01, the Flyers delivered their worst BNL performance yet, failing to reach the semi-finals for the first time at this level. Flyers posted a semi-final finish in three of the following four campaigns: beaten by Dundee Stars in 2001–02, by the Bracknell Bees in 2003–04 and in 2004–05 (the last BNL season), the Flyers fell to the Flames, after only last-placed Edinburgh Capitals failed to qualify for the playoffs. After the Edinburgh  Capitals and Newcastle Vipers joined the top-flight Elite Ice Hockey League (the Superleague having ceased operations in 2003), the BNL folded, with all the former BNL clubs joining other leagues. Silverware in Scotland: British, Caledonian, and Celtic competitions (2005–2011). The Flyers' next destinations were the resurrected Northern League and the third iteration of the SNL. They were very successful in their first season at these levels, winning both Leagues, their respective playoffs, the Scottish Cup, and the Scottish Autumn Cup. These comprised a Grand Slam. The following season, the John Brady Bowl–awarded to Northern League playoff champions–was  the only trophy to have eluded them. Leaving the SNL but remaining in the Northern League, Fife were founder members of the five-team Scottish Premier Hockey League in 2007. They extended their dominance to this new division; since Fife Flyers entry in to the Scottish Premier, they have won 11 out of 12 trophies while recording a new club record of 47 consecutive wins and a 50-game unbeaten run, from September 2006 to April 2007, while again winning the regular season and the playoffs in both set-ups. Flyers entered the Celtic League Cup for its inaugural competition  in 2008–09, a league composed of six clubs, two from Ireland and four from Scotland. They finished top of the league, and won the four-team playoffs, as well as winning the Northern League, Scottish Cup, and Scottish Autumn Cup. A more modest season was to follow as their haul in 2009–10 featured the Scottish Cup and the final Celtic League Cup, before their final season in the Northern League ended with Fife first. Flying high: Fife in the Elite League (2011–present). 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 relative inexperience and a smaller number of foreign players meant that the Flyers finished in last place, missing the play-offs entirely. With a year of top-flight experience, the Flyers' second season (2012–13) was moderately more successful. The team, led by key players Casey Haines, Derek Keller, and Bryan Pitton, was almost unbeatable at home, but struggled to win games away from Kirkcaldy. They finished seventh in the league, resulting in an eighth position  seeding for the play-offs (Hull Stingrays, despite finishing 8th in the league, had won their conference and were consequently seeded second overall as conference winners). Fife played Nottingham Panthers over two hotly contested legs, winning 4–2 at home before losing 3–0 in Nottingham and being eliminated from the play-offs. Despite this loss, the team returned for the 2013–14 season with renewed vigour. A squad overhaul meant that only two foreign players, Bobby Chaumount and Danny Stewart, returned from the previous year. After a poor start to the season continued through the winter, changes were made in February, leading  to a significant improvement in play. The ensuing successful run saw them qualify for the play-offs in the very last game of the season. They defeated the Gardiner Conference champion Dundee Stars 8–4 on aggregate and made the final four play-off finals in Nottingham. Their semi-final game against the league winning Belfast Giants was hotly contested, but the Giants emerged 1-0 winners. While many players from the semi-final team returned for the 2014–15 season, the team saw mixed results on the ice. The Flyers qualified for the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup and for  the play-offs, but did not progress to the finals. With only Danny Stewart and Kyle Haines returning as foreign players for 2015–16, the squad underwent a major overhaul. The Flyers finished 6th in the league and 2nd in their conference, losing to Braehead Clan on equal points. Fife drew the Clan in the quarter-finals and won a close victory (2-1 at home, 2–2 away after overtime). Their semi-final game against Nottingham Panthers was less successful, with Fife losing by a score of 4–1. Fife Flyers would go on to win the Gardiner Conference for the 2017–18  season with an away win over Dundee Stars with a win in Overtime 7–6 to secure the title. They also spent a long period of time in the 2017–18 season in the top four of the league but were forced to finish 7th in a very tight league table. Fife Flyers were among the early pacesetters in the race for the 2018–19 title, after their positive start to the season, but they would finish in 6th in the standings. The 2019–20 season proved to be their worst on-ice performance since their inaugural season in the league in 2011–12, with  the Flyers bottom of the table in 10th at the time of the league's cancellation, due to the coronavirus pandemic, in March 2020. In July 2021, the Flyers confirmed their intention to return to Elite League action for the 2021–22 season, following the cancellation of the 2020-21 campaign. The club also confirmed the return behind the bench of head coach Todd Dutiaume and assistant coach Jeff Hutchins. Elite Ice Hockey League record. Note the 2019–20 season was cancelled in March 2020, with Fife having played 49 games, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The league and play-offs finished  without a winner and the above stat line reflects the Flyers' position at the time of the cancellation. Current squad. "Squad for 2021-22 Elite League season" Player records. All time statistics Season records Game records (all players) Game records (home based players) All Star honours. Player of the Year Trophy Coach of the Year Trophy Player's Player of the Year Netminder of the Year Ahearne Medal Rookie of the Year Young Player of the Year EIHL All Stars "Second Team"