2017–18 EIHL season
2017–18 EIHL season | |
---|---|
League | Elite Ice Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Duration | 9 September 2017 – 25 March 2018 |
Number of matches | 336 |
Total attendance | 904,161 |
Regular season | |
League | Cardiff Devils[1] |
Season MVP | Joey Martin (Cardiff Devils)[2] |
Top scorer | Mike Hammond (Manchester Storm) (83 points)[3] |
Challenge Cup | |
Winners | Belfast Giants[4] |
Conference | |
Erhardt champions | Cardiff Devils[1] |
Gardiner champions | Fife Flyers[5] |
Patton champions | Manchester Storm[6] |
Playoffs | |
Champions | Cardiff Devils[7] |
Runners-up | Sheffield Steelers[7] |
Finals MVP | Justin Faryna (Cardiff Devils)[8] |
The 2017–18 EIHL season was the 15th season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season commenced on 9 September 2017 and ended on 25 March 2018. The reigning league champions were the Cardiff Devils, who won the championship for the first time in 2016–17. The Devils retained their regular season title, with a 3–2 victory away at the Belfast Giants on 16 March 2018.[1] The Devils also won the playoff title, beating the Sheffield Steelers – who had defeated the Devils 12 months prior in a 6–5 double overtime game – 3–1 in the final, winning a first playoff title since 1998–99.[7][9]
Contents
Teams
The league expanded from ten teams to twelve teams for the 2017–18 season, with the introduction of two former English Premier Ice Hockey League teams; the Guildford Flames and the Milton Keynes Lightning.[10]
Starting from the 2017–18 season, the league featured three conferences of four teams compared to the previous season's two conferences of five teams. The Gardiner Conference became an all-Scottish division, with the Braehead Clan, the Dundee Stars, the Edinburgh Capitals and the Fife Flyers. The Manchester Storm, who were part of the Gardiner Conference in 2016–17, moved to a new Southern conference: the Patton Conference. Also part of the division were the Coventry Blaze (moving from the Erhardt Conference), the Guildford Flames and the Milton Keynes Lightning. The final conference was the Erhardt Conference, consisting of the four "Arena" teams: the Belfast Giants, the Cardiff Devils, the Nottingham Panthers and the Sheffield Steelers.[11]
Team | City/Town | Conference | Arena | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Belfast Giants | ![]() |
Erhardt | SSE Arena Belfast | 7,200 |
Braehead Clan | ![]() |
Gardiner | Braehead Arena | 4,000 |
Cardiff Devils | ![]() |
Erhardt | Ice Arena Wales | 3,088 |
Coventry Blaze | ![]() |
Patton | SkyDome Arena | 3,000 |
Dundee Stars | ![]() |
Gardiner | Dundee Ice Arena | 2,400 |
Edinburgh Capitals | ![]() |
Gardiner | Murrayfield Ice Rink | 3,700 |
Fife Flyers | ![]() |
Gardiner | Fife Ice Arena | 3,525 |
Guildford Flames | ![]() |
Patton | Guildford Spectrum | 2,001 |
Manchester Storm | ![]() |
Patton | Altrincham Ice Dome | 2,000 |
Milton Keynes Lightning | ![]() |
Patton | Planet Ice Milton Keynes | 2,800 |
Nottingham Panthers | ![]() |
Erhardt | National Ice Centre | 7,500 |
Sheffield Steelers | ![]() |
Erhardt | Motorpoint Arena | 9,000 |
Standings
Overall
All games counted towards the overall Elite League standings. Each team played 56 matches; 24 matches against their three Conference rivals, and 32 against the eight teams from the other Conferences. The Cardiff Devils became regular season champions for the second successive season, with a 3–2 win over the Belfast Giants on 16 March 2018 at SSE Arena Belfast.[1]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cardiff Devils (Q) | 56 | 41 | 12 | 3 | 37 | 234 | 149 | +85 | 85 | Regular season champions Qualification to playoffs |
2 | Manchester Storm (Q) | 56 | 35 | 16 | 5 | 28 | 216 | 169 | +47 | 75 | Qualification to playoffs |
3 | Sheffield Steelers (Q) | 56 | 34 | 19 | 3 | 32 | 217 | 140 | +77 | 71 | |
4 | Nottingham Panthers (Q) | 56 | 33 | 18 | 5 | 25 | 203 | 177 | +26 | 71 | |
5 | Belfast Giants (Q) | 56 | 34 | 20 | 2 | 30 | 227 | 200 | +27 | 70 | |
6 | Guildford Flames (Q) | 56 | 30 | 17 | 9 | 27 | 215 | 173 | +42 | 69 | |
7 | Fife Flyers (Q) | 56 | 33 | 21 | 2 | 27 | 218 | 172 | +46 | 68 | |
8 | Coventry Blaze (Q) | 56 | 25 | 26 | 5 | 22 | 189 | 186 | +3 | 55 | |
9 | Braehead Clan | 56 | 24 | 26 | 6 | 24 | 161 | 186 | −25 | 54 | |
10 | Dundee Stars | 56 | 22 | 30 | 4 | 16 | 167 | 233 | −66 | 48 | |
11 | Milton Keynes Lightning | 56 | 20 | 34 | 2 | 16 | 180 | 229 | −49 | 42 | |
12 | Edinburgh Capitals | 56 | 5 | 50 | 1 | 5 | 118 | 331 | −213 | 11 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Games won in regulation time; 3) Number of games won; 4) Head-to-head results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 5) Fewest regulation losses; 6) Away game results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 7) Goals scored; 8) Drawing of lots.
Erhardt Conference
Only intra-conference games counted towards the Erhardt Conference standings. Each team played the other three teams in the Conference eight times, for a total of 24 matches. The Cardiff Devils won the Conference for the third season in a row, with a 3–2 win over the Belfast Giants on 16 March 2018 at SSE Arena Belfast.[1]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cardiff Devils | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 91 | 71 | +20 | 32 | Conference champions |
2 | Belfast Giants | 24 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 77 | 83 | −6 | 28 | |
3 | Sheffield Steelers | 24 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 68 | 63 | +5 | 22 | |
4 | Nottingham Panthers | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 78 | 97 | −19 | 20 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Games won in regulation time; 3) Number of games won; 4) Head-to-head results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 5) Fewest regulation losses; 6) Away game results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 7) Goals scored; 8) Drawing of lots.
Gardiner Conference
Only intra-conference games counted towards the Gardiner Conference standings. Each team played the other three teams in the Conference eight times, for a total of 24 matches. The Fife Flyers won the Conference for the first time, with a 7–6 overtime win over the Dundee Stars on 18 February 2018 at the Dundee Ice Arena.[5]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Fife Flyers | 24 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 123 | 57 | +66 | 40 | Conference champions |
2 | Braehead Clan | 24 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 85 | 72 | +13 | 30 | |
3 | Dundee Stars | 24 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 86 | 96 | −10 | 27 | |
4 | Edinburgh Capitals | 24 | 2 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 59 | 128 | −69 | 5 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Games won in regulation time; 3) Number of games won; 4) Head-to-head results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 5) Fewest regulation losses; 6) Away game results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 7) Goals scored; 8) Drawing of lots.
Patton Conference
Only intra-conference games counted towards the Patton Conference standings. Each team played the other three teams in the Conference eight times, for a total of 24 matches. The Manchester Storm won the inaugural Conference, after the Coventry Blaze defeated the Storm's closest challengers, the Guildford Flames, 3–1 on 18 March 2018 at the Guildford Spectrum.[6]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Manchester Storm | 24 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 91 | 71 | +20 | 31 | Conference champions |
2 | Guildford Flames | 24 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 91 | 75 | +16 | 31 | |
3 | Coventry Blaze | 24 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 11 | 87 | 91 | −4 | 25 | |
4 | Milton Keynes Lightning | 24 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 70 | 102 | −32 | 17 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Games won in regulation time; 3) Number of games won; 4) Head-to-head results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 5) Fewest regulation losses; 6) Away game results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 7) Goals scored; 8) Drawing of lots.
Playoffs
Bracket
Quarter-finals (30 March – 1 April) |
Semi-finals (7 April) |
Grand Final (8 April) |
|||||||||||
1 | Cardiff Devils | ||||||||||||
8 | Coventry Blaze | ||||||||||||
1 | Cardiff Devils | 4 | |||||||||||
7 | Fife Flyers | 0 | |||||||||||
2 | Manchester Storm | ||||||||||||
7 | Fife Flyers | ||||||||||||
1 | Cardiff Devils | 3 | |||||||||||
3 | Sheffield Steelers | 1 | |||||||||||
3 | Sheffield Steelers | ||||||||||||
6 | Guildford Flames | ||||||||||||
3 | Sheffield Steelers | 5 | |||||||||||
4 | Nottingham Panthers | 4 | |||||||||||
4 | Nottingham Panthers | ||||||||||||
5 | Belfast Giants |
Quarter-finals
(1) Cardiff Devils vs. (8) Coventry Blaze
30 March 2018 | Coventry Blaze | 2–4 | Cardiff Devils | SkyDome Arena | Recap | |||
Ben Lake (PPG) – 1:18 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
Danick Paquette – 4:43 | Second period | 2:30 – Joey Haddad 10:56 – Sean Bentivoglio (PPG) |
||||||
No scoring | Third period | 3:00 – Joey Martin (PPG) 9:32 – Matt Pope |
||||||
Kevin Nastiuk (35 shots / 31 saves) | Goalie stats | Ben Bowns (32 shots / 30 saves) |
1 April 2018 | Cardiff Devils | 4–3 | Coventry Blaze | Ice Arena Wales | Recap | |||
Justin Faryna – 18:24 | First period | 0:34 – Ryan Dingle | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 4:18 – Brett Robinson (PPG) 17:42 – Ross Venus |
||||||
Josh Batch – 2:47 Matt Pope – 3:26 Justin Faryna (2; ENG) – 18:03 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Ben Bowns (15 shots / 12 saves) | Goalie stats | Kevin Nastiuk (22 shots / 19 saves) |
Cardiff Devils win 8–5 on aggregate. | |
(2) Manchester Storm vs. (7) Fife Flyers
31 March 2018 | Fife Flyers | 1–4 | Manchester Storm | Fife Ice Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 15:09 – Chris Auger | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | 15:22 – Linden Springer (PPG) 19:01 – Andrew McKinney |
||||||
Dan Correale – 0:35 | Third period | 7:01 – Matt Beca | ||||||
Andy Iles (26 shots / 22 saves) | Goalie stats | Mike Clemente (31 shots / 30 saves) |
1 April 2018 | Manchester Storm | 1–5 | OT | Fife Flyers | Altrincham Ice Dome | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | 4:19 – Danick Gauthier | ||||||
Mike Hammond – 16:47 | Second period | 1:14 – Carlo Finucci 11:13 – Jim Jorgensen (PPG) |
||||||
No scoring | Third period | 6:31 – Liam Heelis (PPG) | ||||||
No scoring | First overtime period | 0:47 – Carlo Finucci (2) | ||||||
Mike Clemente (26 shots / 21 saves) | Goalie stats | Andy Iles (26 shots / 25 saves) |
Fife Flyers win 6–5 on aggregate. | |
(3) Sheffield Steelers vs. (6) Guildford Flames
31 March 2018 | Sheffield Steelers | 5–2 | Guildford Flames | Motorpoint Arena | Recap | |||
No scoring | First period | 8:38 – Charles Wells | ||||||
No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
John Armstrong – 2:45 Robert Dowd (PPG) – 11:33 John Armstrong (2) – 13:13 Andreas Valdix – 14:34 Mark Matheson (PPG) – 19:36 |
Third period | 6:21 – Brett Ferguson (PPG) | ||||||
Ervīns Muštukovs (30 shots / 28 saves) | Goalie stats | Chris Carrozzi (32 shots / 27 saves) |
1 April 2018 | Guildford Flames | 5–4 | Sheffield Steelers | Guildford Spectrum | Recap | |||
Jesse Craige (PPG) – 7:39 | First period | 1:51 – John Armstrong 3:22 – Mark Matheson |
||||||
Rhett Rachinski – 1:08 | Second period | 1:43 – Colton Fretter 13:44 – Eric Neiley |
||||||
Ben Davies (PPG) – 1:34 Kruise Reddick (PPG) – 3:00 Ben Davies (2) – 19:22 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
Chris Carrozzi (27 shots / 23 saves) | Goalie stats | Ervīns Muštukovs (43 shots / 38 saves) |
Sheffield Steelers win 9–7 on aggregate. | |
(4) Nottingham Panthers vs. (5) Belfast Giants
30 March 2018 | Belfast Giants | 4–3 | Nottingham Panthers | SSE Arena Belfast | Recap | |||
Darcy Murphy – 9:11 David Rutherford (PPG) – 10:22 Colin Shields (PPG) – 13:16 |
First period | 19:53 – David Clarke | ||||||
John Kurtz – 12:34 | Second period | 0:38 – Mark Derlago | ||||||
No scoring | Third period | 8:15 – David Clarke (2) | ||||||
Jackson Whistle (26 shots / 23 saves) | Goalie stats | Patrick Galbraith (48 shots / 44 saves) |
1 April 2018 | Nottingham Panthers | 5–3 | OT | Belfast Giants | National Ice Centre | Recap | ||
No scoring | First period | 3:01 – Jonathan Ferland (PPG) 3:20 – Kevin Raine |
||||||
Mark Derlago – 3:07 Evan Mosey (SHG) – 14:58 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
Brett Perlini – 1:29 Yann Sauvé (PPG) – 15:16 |
Third period | 15:46 – Jim Vandermeer | ||||||
Dan Spang – 4:34 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
Patrick Galbraith (37 shots / 34 saves) | Goalie stats | Jackson Whistle (29 shots / 24 saves) |
Nottingham Panthers win 8–7 on aggregate. | |
Semi-finals
7 April 2018 13:00 |
Cardiff Devils | 4–0 (0–0, 1–0, 3–0) |
Fife Flyers | National Ice Centre, Nottingham |
Game reference | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Ben Bowns | Goalies | Andy Iles | Referees: Tom Darnell Stefan Hogarth Linesmen: James Kavanagh Allan Ward |
|
Tyson Strachan – 35:36 Matt Pope – 46:42 Layne Ulmer – 47:41 Justin Faryna – 52:02 |
1–0 2–0 3–0 4–0 |
|||
10 min | Penalties | 8 min | ||
38 | Shots | 19 |
7 April 2018 17:00 |
Sheffield Steelers | 5–4 (OT) (1–2, 1–2, 2–0, 1–0) |
Nottingham Panthers | National Ice Centre, Nottingham |
Game reference | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Ervīns Muštukovs | Goalies | Patrick Galbraith | Referees: Dean Smith Mike Hicks Linesmen: Ilia Kisil Danny Beresford |
|
Mathieu Roy – 15:24 Jonathan Phillips – 24:53 Ben O'Connor (PPG) – 48:37 Levi Nelson – 58:21 John Armstrong – 63:47 |
0–1 0–2 1–2 2–2 2–3 2–4 3–4 4–4 5–4 |
0:47 – Alexander Mokshantsev 12:25 – Luke Pither 26:50 – Luke Pither (2; PPG) 33:45 – Jeff Brown |
||
10 min | Penalties | 6 min | ||
42 | Shots | 36 |
Third-place match
8 April 2018 12:00 |
Nottingham Panthers | 8–2 (3–1, 3–1, 2–0) |
Fife Flyers | National Ice Centre, Nottingham |
Game reference | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Garnett (26:58) Sam Gospel (33:02) |
Goalies | Jordan Marr | Referees: Stefan Hogarth Dean Smith Linesmen: Ilia Kisil Allan Ward |
|
Jeff Brown – 4:39 Luke Pither – 15:02 Zack Phillips – 16:45 Ollie Betteridge – 26:42 Mark Derlago – 31:02 Zack Phillips (2) – 32:42 Ollie Betteridge (2) – 42:24 David Clarke – 57:18 |
1–0 1–1 2–1 3–1 3–2 4–2 5–2 6–2 7–2 8–2 |
7:01 – Jim Jorgensen 22:15 – Carlo Finucci |
||
0 min | Penalties | 0 min | ||
41 | Shots | 27 |
Grand Final
8 April 2018 16:00 |
Cardiff Devils | 3–1 (0–0, 2–0, 1–1) |
Sheffield Steelers | National Ice Centre, Nottingham |
Game reference | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Ben Bowns | Goalies | Ervīns Muštukovs | Referees: Tom Darnell Mike Hicks Linesmen: James Kavanagh Danny Beresford |
|
Matt Pope (PPG) – 24:53 Andrew Hotham – 38:41 Jake Morissette (SHG; ENG) – 59:43 |
1–0 2–0 2–1 3–1 |
46:55 – Eric Neiley | ||
6 min | Penalties | 6 min | ||
32 | Shots | 24 |
Regular season statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season.[3]
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mike Hammond | Manchester Storm | 56 | 32 | 51 | 83 | 10 |
John Dunbar | Guildford Flames | 55 | 22 | 59 | 81 | 34 |
Matt Beca | Manchester Storm | 56 | 24 | 51 | 75 | 14 |
Brendan Connolly | Belfast Giants | 53 | 27 | 46 | 73 | 154 |
Joey Martin | Cardiff Devils | 55 | 27 | 46 | 73 | 26 |
Sébastien Sylvestre | Belfast Giants | 54 | 32 | 40 | 72 | 152 |
Dane Byers | Manchester Storm | 55 | 24 | 46 | 70 | 107 |
Luke Moffatt | Manchester Storm | 56 | 34 | 32 | 66 | 73 |
Kruise Reddick | Guildford Flames | 54 | 27 | 39 | 66 | 36 |
Marc-Olivier Vallerand | Coventry Blaze | 48 | 34 | 31 | 65 | 145 |
Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, while playing at least 1200 minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.[12]
Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | OTL | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ervīns Muštukovs | Sheffield Steelers | 53 | 3097:39 | 31 | 19 | 3 | 122 | 9 | .918 | 2.36 |
Ben Bowns | Cardiff Devils | 51 | 2937:01 | 38 | 10 | 3 | 119 | 6 | .912 | 2.43 |
Patrick Galbraith | Nottingham Panthers | 27 | 1445:25 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 62 | 2 | .924 | 2.57 |
Andy Iles | Fife Flyers | 42 | 2369:49 | 28 | 10 | 2 | 106 | 2 | .913 | 2.68 |
Chris Carrozzi | Guildford Flames | 43 | 2589:09 | 25 | 13 | 5 | 119 | 3 | .904 | 2.76 |
Playoff statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the playoffs.[13]
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Armstrong | Sheffield Steelers | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
Matt Pope | Cardiff Devils | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
Luke Pither | Nottingham Panthers | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
David Clarke | Nottingham Panthers | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
Mark Matheson | Sheffield Steelers | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
Mike Hammond | Manchester Storm | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
Joey Martin | Cardiff Devils | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
Jake Morissette | Cardiff Devils | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
Colton Fretter | Sheffield Steelers | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
Mark Derlago | Nottingham Panthers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Justin Faryna | Cardiff Devils | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Carlo Finucci | Fife Flyers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, while playing at least 60 minutes, at the conclusion of the playoffs.[14]
Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | OTL | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ben Bowns | Cardiff Devils | 4 | 240:00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | .939 | 1.50 |
Mike Clemente | Manchester Storm | 2 | 120:47 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | .895 | 2.98 |
Andy Iles | Fife Flyers | 3 | 180:47 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | .899 | 2.99 |
Ervīns Muštukovs | Sheffield Steelers | 4 | 243:25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | .909 | 3.20 |
Kevin Nastiuk | Coventry Blaze | 2 | 117:20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .891 | 3.58 |
References
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.