Ice Hockey: Flyers off to a flier

The first legs of the Benson and Hedges Cup semi-finals saw just one upset that could carry over into the second leg this coming weekend after Fife Flyers beat last year's defeated finalists, Sheffield Steelers, 5- 3 in a thrilling match in Scotland, writes Steve Pinder.

Flyers opened the scoring, but Steelers went 2-1 up with Tony Hand scoring the second. Flyers refused to give in, however, and Mark Morrison equalised with two minutes of the period left.

The second period saw just one goal and it was a controversial one for Fife. With just seconds left, Steven King claimed a goal, but there was no red light from the goal judge and it was only after the referee consulted his linesman that the goal stood.

The second leg between these two teams promises more excitement than Humberside Hawks' visit to Nottingham Panthers. Hawks fell to three goals without reply in the first period and never recovered, losing 9-3 and also losing Scott Young, thrown out with 10 minutes left for slashing.