The perfect league home opener for Manchester Storm saw them complete the weekend unbeaten across both league and cup, taking the match against Fife 6–1.

A good stop by DeRidder in the eighth minute, preventing a well-directed tipped effort, was the first moment of note in the Sunday evening affair as Manchester and Fife eased themselves into the encounter. The ever-present Owen between the Flyers’ posts then responded with his own fine save, kicking away Johnson’s effort at the midway point of the opening period. An excellent individual play by Cutler saw him showcase his puck-handling skills before finishing with aplomb to open the scoring with 48 seconds remaining in the period. A wonderful tic-tac-toe play a few seconds later doubled the hosts’ advantage, as Gilmour finished the passing move from Haden and Locke, sending the visiting Flyers into the dressing room reeling from this quick double punch.

The same double-scoring pattern was repeated by the hosts in the second period. Johnson beat Owen to the puck, with the goaltender attempting a poke check. This neat touch from Johnson set up Gilmour, who eased the puck into a vacant Flyers net. Less than a minute later it was 4–0 to the Storm, as Dudek converted from Caines in the 29th minute of play. A late hit on Ulett by Scheid saw Cutler step in to instigate a fight, which resulted in him sitting out the rest of the period. The subsequent powerplay opportunity was converted by the visitors, with Hunt latching onto a precise cross-zone pass from Jameson in the 33rd minute to reduce the deficit to three goals. A golden short-handed opportunity for Fife in the dying seconds of the middle period was blazed over by Somoza.

A flashpoint in the 47th minute saw Cairns assessed a 10-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct after he berated a grounded Cutler unnecessarily. The Flyers then further lost their discipline, and Cutler took advantage of the situation to exact revenge with a goal on the powerplay. A well-timed follow-up effort by Ergang opportunistically added a sixth for Storm in the 53rd minute. A fractious end to the game saw several minor melees as neither side wanted to give up an inch, with the officials wrestling to control some apparent frustrations. The final minutes were played out at on the man advantage for the Flyers but they couldn’t salvage a consolation goal, as they returned North well beaten on this occasion.

Words by: Callum Schora