2016–17 EIHL season
The 2016–17 Elite Ice Hockey League season was the 14th season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season begun in early September and ended in March. Regular season champion Cardiff Devils were defeated in the playoff final by their Erhardt Conference rivals Sheffield Steelers 6–5 in double-overtime.[6]
| 2016–17 EIHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Elite Ice Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | September - March |
| Regular season | |
| League | Cardiff Devils[1] |
| Season MVP | Andrew Hotham (Cardiff Devils)[2] |
| Top scorer | Matt Beca (Braehead Clan) 75 points[3] |
| Challenge Cup | |
| Champions | Cardiff Devils |
| Conference | |
| Erhardt champions | Cardiff Devils[4] |
| Erhardt runners-up | Belfast Giants |
| Gardiner champions | Braehead Clan[5] |
| Gardiner runners-up | Dundee Stars |
| Playoffs | |
| Champions | Sheffield Steelers[6] |
| Runners-up | Cardiff Devils |
| Finals MVP | Ben Bowns (Cardiff Devils)[2] |
From the 2016–17 season, the number of non British-trained players rose from 13 to 14, while the amount of work-permit players remained at 11, according to a rule change first introduced in 2014.[7]
Teams
|
Erhardt Conference
|
Gardiner Conference
|
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Standings
Overall
All games counted towards the overall Elite League standings. Each team played 52 matches; 32 matches against their four Conference rivals, and 20 against the five teams from the other Conference. The Cardiff Devils became regular season champions for the first time in twenty years, with a 6–2 win over the Sheffield Steelers on 18 March 2017 at Ice Arena Wales.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff Devils (Q) | 52 | 39 | 10 | 3 | 32 | 200 | 136 | +64 | 81 | Regular season champions Qualification to playoffs |
| 2 | Belfast Giants (Q) | 52 | 35 | 13 | 4 | 30 | 195 | 145 | +50 | 74 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 3 | Sheffield Steelers (Q) | 52 | 35 | 14 | 3 | 31 | 196 | 136 | +60 | 73 | |
| 4 | Nottingham Panthers (Q) | 52 | 26 | 20 | 6 | 22 | 169 | 175 | −6 | 58 | |
| 5 | Braehead Clan (Q) | 52 | 27 | 22 | 3 | 24 | 191 | 176 | +15 | 57 | |
| 6 | Fife Flyers (Q) | 52 | 25 | 24 | 3 | 20 | 174 | 186 | −12 | 53 | |
| 7 | Dundee Stars (Q) | 52 | 20 | 26 | 6 | 16 | 162 | 183 | −21 | 46 | |
| 8 | Manchester Storm (Q) | 52 | 18 | 26 | 8 | 17 | 141 | 168 | −27 | 44 | |
| 9 | Coventry Blaze | 52 | 19 | 28 | 5 | 13 | 147 | 198 | −51 | 43 | |
| 10 | Edinburgh Capitals | 52 | 16 | 33 | 3 | 11 | 154 | 226 | −72 | 35 |
Source: EIHL
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.
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 four teams in the Conference eight times, for a total of 32 matches. The Cardiff Devils won the Conference for the second successive season, with a 4–3 win over the Belfast Giants on 25 March 2017 at Ice Arena Wales.[4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff Devils | 32 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 18 | 119 | 96 | +23 | 45 | Conference champions |
| 2 | Belfast Giants | 32 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 104 | 88 | +16 | 42 | |
| 3 | Sheffield Steelers | 32 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 17 | 121 | 88 | +33 | 38 | |
| 4 | Nottingham Panthers | 32 | 13 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 104 | 119 | −15 | 30 | |
| 5 | Coventry Blaze | 32 | 8 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 84 | 141 | −57 | 19 |
Source: EIHL
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.
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 four teams in the Conference eight times, for a total of 32 matches. The Braehead Clan won the Conference for the third successive season, with a 4–1 win over the Dundee Stars on 25 February 2017 at the Braehead Arena.[5]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Braehead Clan | 32 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 22 | 136 | 97 | +39 | 47 | Conference champions |
| 2 | Dundee Stars | 32 | 17 | 12 | 3 | 14 | 117 | 106 | +11 | 37 | |
| 3 | Fife Flyers | 32 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 13 | 117 | 121 | −4 | 31 | |
| 4 | Manchester Storm | 32 | 13 | 16 | 3 | 12 | 93 | 101 | −8 | 29 | |
| 5 | Edinburgh Capitals | 32 | 13 | 18 | 1 | 8 | 101 | 139 | −38 | 27 |
Source: EIHL
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.
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 (1–2 April) |
Semi-finals (8 April) |
Grand Final (9 April) | ||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Cardiff Devils | 3 | 3 | 6 | E1 | Cardiff Devils | 4 | |||||||||||||
| RS8 | Manchester Storm | 2 | 1 | 3 | RS7 | Dundee Stars | 2 | |||||||||||||
| G1 | Braehead Clan | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| RS7 | Dundee Stars | 3 | 3 | 6 | E1 | Cardiff Devils | 5 | |||||||||||||
| RS3 | Sheffield Steelers | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| RS3 | Sheffield Steelers | 2 | 5 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| RS4 | Nottingham Panthers | 5 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| Third place game (9 April) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| RS2 | Belfast Giants | 4 | 4 | 8 | RS3 | Sheffield Steelers | 2 | |||||||||||||
| RS6 | Fife Flyers | 2 | 1 | 3 | RS2 | Belfast Giants | 0 | RS7 | Dundee Stars | 8 | ||||||||||
| RS2 | Belfast Giants | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||
(E1) Cardiff Devils vs. (RS8) Manchester Storm
| 1 April 2017 | Cardiff Devils | 3–2 | Manchester Storm | Ice Arena Wales | Recap | |||
| Patrick Asselin (PPG) – 15:20 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 7:19 – Connor Varley (SHG) 13:23 – Mark Heatley | ||||||
| Joey Haddad – 4:02 Scott Hotham – 10:46 |
Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ben Bowns (22 shots / 20 saves) | Goalie stats | Mike Clemente (38 shots / 35 saves) | ||||||
| 2 April 2017 | Manchester Storm | 1–3 | Cardiff Devils | Altrincham Ice Dome | Recap | |||
| Darian Dziurzynski – 8:21 | First period | 11:37 – Joey Haddad 18:33 – Chris Culligan | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 8:07 – Gleason Fournier | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mike Clemente (38 shots / 35 saves) | Goalie stats | Ben Bowns (23 shots / 22 saves) | ||||||
| Cardiff Devils win 6–3 on aggregate. | |
(G1) Braehead Clan vs. (RS7) Dundee Stars
| 1 April 2017 | Dundee Stars | 3–1 | Braehead Clan | Dundee Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| Justin Faryna – 7:33 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Justin Faryna (2; PPG) – 19:21 | Second period | 3:51 – Alex Leavitt | ||||||
| Vinny Scarsella – 8:17 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Joe Fallon (26 shots / 25 saves) | Goalie stats | Michal Zajkowski (39 shots / 36 saves) | ||||||
| 2 April 2017 | Braehead Clan | 0–3 | Dundee Stars | Braehead Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 11:54 – Cale Tanaka | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 3:10 – Joey Sides 6:17 – Kevin Hart | ||||||
| Michal Zajkowski (31 shots / 28 saves) | Goalie stats | Joe Fallon (27 shots / 27 saves) | ||||||
| Dundee Stars win 6–1 on aggregate. | |
(RS3) Sheffield Steelers vs. (RS4) Nottingham Panthers
| 1 April 2017 | Nottingham Panthers | 5–2 | Sheffield Steelers | National Ice Centre | Recap | |||
| Alex Nikiforuk – 4:55 Robert Farmer (PPG) – 8:54 Brad Moran (PPG) – 11:04 Brian McGrattan – 11:52 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 4:45 – Levi Nelson (PPG) | ||||||
| Chris Lawrence – 19:50 | Third period | 14:45 – Geoff Walker (PPG) | ||||||
| Miika Wiikman (35 shots / 33 saves) | Goalie stats | Ervīns Muštukovs (21 shots / 16 saves) | ||||||
| 2 April 2017 | Sheffield Steelers | 5–1 | OT | Nottingham Panthers | Sheffield Arena | Recap | ||
| Levi Nelson – 18:33 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jonathan Phillips (SHG) – 17:30 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Markus Nilsson – 7:33 Robert Dowd (PPG) – 15:23 |
Third period | 19:52 – Chris Lawrence | ||||||
| Guillaume Desbiens – 1:39 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Ervīns Muštukovs (19 shots / 18 saves) | Goalie stats | Miika Wiikman (15 shots / 14 saves) Dan Green (12 shots / 8 saves) | ||||||
| Sheffield Steelers win 7–6 on aggregate. | |
(RS2) Belfast Giants vs. (RS6) Fife Flyers
| 1 April 2017 | Belfast Giants | 4–2 | Fife Flyers | SSE Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 15:49 – Sébastien Thinel | ||||||
| Steve Saviano (PPG) – 10:15 Chris Higgins – 11:03 Derrick Walser (PPG) – 16:16 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Derrick Walser (2; PPG) – 18:16 | Third period | 4:23 – Chase Schaber | ||||||
| Stephen Murphy (30 shots / 28 saves) | Goalie stats | Shane Owen (46 shots / 42 saves) | ||||||
| 2 April 2017 | Fife Flyers | 1–4 | Belfast Giants | Fife Ice Arena | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 11:05 – Matt Nickerson | ||||||
| Ryan Dingle – 3:50 | Second period | 15:55 – Jérôme Gauthier-Leduc (PPG) 19:45 – Chris Higgins (PPG) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 4:06 – Blair Riley | ||||||
| Shane Owen (33 shots / 29 saves) | Goalie stats | Stephen Murphy (21 shots / 20 saves) | ||||||
| Belfast Giants win 8–3 on aggregate. | |
Semi-finals
| 8 April 2017 13:00 | Cardiff Devils | 4–2 (0–2, 1–0, 3–0) | Dundee Stars | National Ice Centre, Nottingham |
| Game reference | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Bowns | Goalies | Joe Fallon | Referees: Stefan Hogarth Dean Smith Linesmen: Paul Staniforth James Kavanagh | |||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 min | Penalties | 2 min | ||||||||||||||||||
| 37 | Shots | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 April 2017 17:00 | Sheffield Steelers | 2–0 (1–0, 0–0, 1–0) | Belfast Giants | National Ice Centre, Nottingham |
| Game reference | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ervīns Muštukovs | Goalies | Stephen Murphy | Referees: Toby Craig Tom Pering Linesmen: Lee Young Allan Ward | |||||
| ||||||||
| 2 min | Penalties | 6 min | ||||||
| 17 | Shots | 31 | ||||||
Third-place match
| 9 April 2017 12:00 | Dundee Stars | 8–15 (4–4, 2–5, 2–6) | Belfast Giants | National Ice Centre, Nottingham |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Holland (57:49) Joe Fallon (2:11) | Goalies | Andrew Dickson | Referees: Stefan Hogarth Pavel Halas Linesmen: Danny Beresford Lee Young | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 min | Penalties | 0 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 38 | Shots | 43 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grand Final
| 9 April 2017 16:00 | Sheffield Steelers | 6–5 (2OT) (1–3, 4–1, 0–1, 0–0, 1–0) | Cardiff Devils | National Ice Centre, Nottingham |
| Game reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ervīns Muštukovs | Goalies | Ben Bowns | Referees: Toby Craig Dean Smith Linesmen: Allan Ward James Kavanagh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 min | Penalties | 6 min | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 61 | Shots | 44 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup was won by the Cardiff Devils, who came from behind to beat the Sheffield Steelers 3-2.[8]
The win meant Cardiff had won the Challenge Cup twice in the previous three years, with their other victory coming in 2014-15, also against the Steelers.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Beca | Braehead Clan | 52 | 27 | 48 | 75 | 28 |
| Scott Pitt | Braehead Clan | 52 | 32 | 42 | 74 | 26 |
| Vinny Scarsella | Dundee Stars | 52 | 18 | 54 | 72 | 4 |
| Alex Leavitt | Braehead Clan | 52 | 24 | 45 | 69 | 57 |
| Mathieu Roy | Sheffield Steelers | 52 | 28 | 29 | 57 | 28 |
| Blair Riley | Belfast Giants | 52 | 28 | 28 | 56 | 77 |
| Chris Higgins | Belfast Giants | 49 | 20 | 35 | 55 | 107 |
| Mathew Sisca | Fife Flyers | 50 | 17 | 38 | 55 | 44 |
| Ryan Dingle | Fife Flyers | 41 | 31 | 23 | 54 | 32 |
| Kevin Bruijsten | Dundee Stars | 47 | 23 | 31 | 54 | 10 |
Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, playing at least 2100 minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.[9]
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Bowns | Cardiff Devils | 46 | 2616:43 | 33 | 7 | 103 | 3 | .912 | 2.36 |
| Ervīns Muštukovs | Sheffield Steelers | 51 | 3053:14 | 34 | 14 | 130 | 1 | .913 | 2.55 |
| Stephen Murphy | Belfast Giants | 39 | 2284:16 | 25 | 10 | 97 | 3 | .905 | 2.55 |
| Mike Clemente | Manchester Storm | 52 | 3108:38 | 18 | 26 | 150 | 3 | .910 | 2.90 |
| Miika Wiikman | Nottingham Panthers | 41 | 2294:47 | 23 | 12 | 115 | 2 | .901 | 3.01 |
References
- "Cardiff Devils beat Sheffield Steelers 6-2 to win Elite League". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
- "Devils enjoy awards success". EliteLeague.co.uk. Elite Ice Hockey League. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
- "Top Scorers". EliteLeague.co.uk. Elite Ice Hockey League. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- "Elite League: Cardiff Devils 4-3 Belfast Giants". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
The Devils have now secured the Erhardt Conference title.
- "REPORT: Braehead Clan 4 Dundee Stars 1". Braehead Clan. Elite Ice Hockey League. 26 February 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
Glasgow's Braehead Clan have won the Gardiner Conference title for the third season in a row and their fourth in five years after defeating Dundee Stars 4–1.
- Westerdale, Bob (9 April 2017). "Epic win: Sheffield Steelers are Play Off kings after 6-5 double-overtime victory over Cardiff Devils". Sheffield Star. Johnston Press. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- http://www.eurohockey.com/article/3414-eihl-rules-changes-ahead-of-201415.html
- https://www.bbc.com/sport/ice-hockey/39174189
- "Top Goalies". EliteLeague.co.uk. Elite Ice Hockey League. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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