Ice hockey: The western stars are shining bright tonight

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There are many twists and turns yet to come, but Glasgow Clan are enjoying the 2019-20 ice hockey season pretty much more than anyone right now.

They've been at the top of table more than once, and midweek saw them post a splendid come from behind 6-3 win over Cardiff Devils.

Saturday brings them to Kirkcaldy to face a Fife Flyers side they have dominated thus far - Zack Fitzgerald's team have won their last four meetings, and the coach will be quietly confident of stretching that sequence even further.

If so he then heads back west to face Sheffield
Steelers with the prospect of a four-point weekend to keep his team comfortably ahead of the chasing pack.

And that might be one of the sparks which ignites a title race which has been wide open from day one.

None of the big four - Sheffield, Belfast Giants, Nottingham Panthers or Cardiff Devils - have properly clicked yet.  When they're hot, they're pretty good, but there have been some solid dents placed in their armour by teams across the league. None of them wears a cloak of  invincibility any more which can only be good for the sport.

Panthers are mired in sixth playing .500 hockey - well below the expectations of fans or management - while Steelers have shown their potency without harnessing consistency,  and Belfast have laboured at times.

In truth, there isn't much between the top two and the slots outside the play-off berths, and, as a result teams are sliding up and down the standings with every passing weekend. That probably explains why Clan can go top one night, then ship nine goals in Coventry the next ...

For Fife Flyers, eighth spot is a potential pitfall. One bad weekend and they could fall the wrong side of the red line which separates contenders from also-rans - it may be early in the season, but no-one likes to be behind the pack.

October was a hellish month for Fife, and November has yielded one win over Cardiff, but little else so far. This is a team in need of a string of good results, and performances,  to lift the gloomy clouds that hover above the ice pad.

Crowds are down, and the fans crave entertainment as much as they expect wins. The team has to deliver.

Victory over Clan would certainly be a good starting point.

By all accounts Fife were the better team in the recent meeting at Braehead only to switch off five minutes early and tumble to defeat.

The quest for 60-minute hockey feels, at times, elusive, but it is also essential - if not mandatory - for any team which seeks success.

Sunday takes Flyers to Cardiff where they have rarely enjoyed success on the back of a lengthy bus journey - but a second pointless weekend has to avoided at all costs.

Standing still while everyone else around you moves makes  it harder to kick-start momentum.


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