Sunday Showdown: Your Guide to This Week's EIHL Action

EIHL News Central

The Elite Ice Hockey League {EIHL} is approaching it’s climax, and we are approaching the most epochal games of the season, with every point counting towards a dramatic end as teams battle for a playoff spot and some teams battling in the title race. This article will dive into the depth of Sunday's action.

Game One: Belfast Giants v Glasgow Clan

It is top of the table v middle of the table; Glasgow Clan compete to reach 6th, and the mighty Belfast Giants try to maintain the top place as the Steelers look to chase them.

Photo By David Ingham

The Belfast Giants have been on fire this season and don’t look like stopping. They are sitting five points ahead of the rest of the league; however, they aren’t currently in good form, having only won two out of their last five matches. There are many reasons behind the Giant's prevailing season, one being their excellent attacking, with key players shining on the ice, such as Scott Conway, J.J. Piccinich and Jordan Kawaguchi, to name a few. Scott Conway, an ex-EIHL MVP, is the Giant's top goal scorer, which comes with little to no surprise, scoring 44 points so far this season and averaging 1 point per game {ppg, you can expect him to contribute on the ice tonight against the Clan. Jordan Kawaguchi is having an outstanding first season in the EIHL, sitting at 47 points in 51 games played. He has a good passing skill set, allowing him to assist his teammates to goals, but he also excels in the backcheck, sitting with a +24 +/- stat, demonstrating his powerfully robust ice hockey IQ. David Goodwin returned to the club near deadline day after a short spell with no confirmed team. Goodwin has been a solid player for the Giants in the past, having scored 249 points in 219 games with them, and this season has been no different from his previous ones, as he sits on a revolutionary 16 points in 14 games for a 1.14ppg similar to the Giants point leader Scott Conway. According to Elite Prospects {EP}, Joe Cassetti is out due to an undisclosed injury, and Karl Boudrias is an injury reserve replacement.

The Glasgow Clan have undergone a complete rebuild under the control of head coach Corey Neilson, which has seen many players sign and young talent; however, the season has been relatively up and down all year round, with them only managing to reach 7th place in 41 games with a team cable of 4/5th place. Although there is still a chance of this, it is an upwards battle after both 5th and 6th place teams walked away with points on Saturday night, and this game will be crucial towards it. Neilson brought in his son, Cade Neilson, a young star with a protracted career ahead of himself. Cade Neilson joined on deadline day after a challenging run in the East Coast Hockey League {ECHL}, scoring a lowly 18 points in 43 games, but sadly, now with Clan, this has not changed in many ways. Cole Ully has been a standout for the Clan as he dominates the team's offensive front and aids his defensive core. He carries 42 points in 38 games for a 1.31 ppg and a +5 +/- stat; this demonstrates an outstanding hockey IQ. Mitchell Heard has also been a standout, mainly on faceoffs where he carries a monumental 378 faceoff wins, and he has a 56% faceoff success rate. According to EP, Nick Prkusic is out due to a lower-body injury and will miss the remainder of the 24/25 season, and there is no confirmed injury reserve replacement.

Belfast Giants are the favourites to win when comparing three main statistics: Faceoffs, Powerplay, and Penalty Killing.

Glasgow Clan Belfast Giants

FACEOFFS:           51.52%   56.07%

POWERPLAYS:         22.86%     24.39%

PENALTY KILLS:      78.67%     80.54%

When comparing these statistics it gives a clearer insight into the way these teams are on the ice, and it can usually paint a picture ahead of the game; however, this might not, so we looked into other statistics, such as each team's last five games and last five head to head {H2H} games.

Glasgow Clan Belfast Giants

LAST 5 GAMES:       WWLLW     LWWLL

LAST 5 H2H GAMES:   LLWWL     WWLLW

By comparing that, we can see that currently, the Clan are on a better run of form, whereas in the last 5 H2H, the Giants are the leaders, having won 3 out 5 of the previous H2H games.

Game Two: Dundee Stars v Sheffield Steelers

The Dundee Stars welcome the former grand slam winners, the Sheffield Steelers, for what is destined to be a good game filled with drama as both teams look to secure points to push forward through their battles. 

The Dundee Stars have luckily remained mainly stationary in their spot, 8th on the table; however, depending on how the next run of games goes, this may change as Clan sit only five points ahead and Storm are only five points behind, so Dundee must remain on top of their game to ensure they stay within a playoff spot. Dundee stunted the entire league with their jaw-dropping recruitment this summer with signings like Ben O’Connor, Keenu Yamaoto and Zachary Teskos. Ben O’Connor has commonly been referred to as one of the best British defencemen in the league, and it was surprising to see him sign a multi-year deal with the Dundee Stars instead of returning to the Guildford Flames for another season; however, despite the hype behind him, he has struggled with the team on the defensive side of the game as he carries a +/- stat of -21 which is the 3rd worse on the team meaning he is on the ice for most of the goals scored against which isn’t the best of looks for a Dman. With that mentioned, O’Connor has, on the other hand, shown solid offensive skills, scoring 23 points in 43 games. Dryden Dow continues to impress the fans of Dundee as he has scored 37 points so far this season, which makes him the second-best player on the team at the moment, and he has demonstrated his playmaking skills with 28 assists, which shows his offensive awareness to find open players and create chances. According to EP, Alex Tonge is out due to an undisclosed injury.

The Sheffield Steelers have had a successful season so far; however, it has not been as good as last season, as they saw themselves knocked out of the Challenge Cup, ending their title defence. However, they are on the ice looking for redemption as they chase the Belfast Giants at the table to attempt to retain the EIHL league trophy. Head Coach {HC} Aaron Fox and owner Tony Smith retained as many players of last year's team as possible whilst bringing in more star players and developing their youthful links to the Sheffield Steeldogs in the National Ice Hockey League {NIHL}. They re-signed last season's MVP, Mitchell Balmas, Finnish forward Mikko Juusola and the golden child, Robert Dowd, whilst signing new players such as Daniel Leavens, Finlay Ulrick, and Maxim Golod. If any Steeler player stands out this season than anyone else, it is Robert Dowd, usually referred to as the golden child. Dowd has been one of the best players ever to step foot on EIHL ice; he broke the all-time goal-scoring and point-scoring records, overtaking the best of all time in the EIHL, Colin Shields and David Clarke. So, without any surprise, Dowd will be a key asset in this game and the Steeler’s run for glory. Matthew Greenfield has had another solid season as he carries a 92.85 save percentage {svs%} after facing 1188 shots and saving 1103 shots. According to EP, Joel Janatuinen is out due to an undisclosed injury.

If we look at the same three statistics as we did for the Belfast Giants and Glasgow Clan game, it shows that Dundee Stars are the favourites; however, sometimes statistics are not correct representations of how a season has gone, as we can see in the league standings that Sheffield Steelers are the better team and the favours to win against the Dundee Stars however, we still looked at these stats.

Dundee Stars Sheffield Steelers

FACEOFFS:           50.08%     49.74%

POWERPLAYS:         22.70%     20.31%

PENALTY KILLS:      81.13%     73.91%

These stats are good representations of how teams perform on the ice; however, they are not always how the season may go, so it is essential to look into the current forms of the clubs and the last five H2H.

Dundee Stars Sheffield Steelers

LAST 5 GAMES:       WLLWL     WWLLL

LAST 5 H2H GAMES:   LLLWL     WWWLW

With both teams in a state of flux, it will come down to which team can turn their recent struggles around. While Sheffield’s recent form and historical head-to-head advantage make them the favourites, Dundee's solid power play and home-ice advantage could provide an upset.

Game Three: Fife Flyers v Nottingham Panthers

The Fife Flyers return to the Auld Barn for some more Sunday night ice hockey, and this time, they welcome their opponents from Nottingham, the Nottingham Panthers, in a game which is sure to be full of joy, sweat and tears. 

The Fife Flyers have had a very tough season both on and off the ice. With losing seven players and a head coach to getting put up for sale, it has been difficult, and they are currently on track for their worst-ever season in the EIHL. The Flyers currently sit on four wins and 10 points after 41 games, which is so far the worst ever in their history in this league, and they are hoping after last weekend's shootout win against the Glasgow Clan that they can get one more win. Recruitment was tough for the Flyers this season, with Thomas Coolen taking a gamble on four young players from Kazakhstan; sadly, the gamble didn’t succeed as after a few months, the four players from Kazakhstan returned home after struggling to settle in along with players like Martin Latal, and Drake Pilon leaving two which left the team shorthanded and then the same day as Drake Pilon the news dropped that HC Thomas Coolen had departed the club which he was reported to mutually had left by the club but reported to have been sacked by Fife Free Press’s own writer Allan Crow. Johnny Curran, who is out due to an ACL injury, took over as interim HC with the support of general manager {GM} Todd Dutiamue; Curran managed to recruit some more players, such as Jonas Emmerdahl, Evan MacKinnon and Charles-Antoine Paiement. Michael Cichy has been a star for the Fife Flyers, just like how Flyers thought he would be, as he leads the team in points and goals with 32 points and 17 goals; he has a 0.78ppg. Cichy has ground-breaking stick-handling skills, which allows him to dangle his way around players and deke the goalie out of position. Lucas Chiodo, who returned to the Flyers for his second season with them, has demonstrated his playmaking skills and offensive awareness to set up his teammates for 24 goals. Sadly late in February Ryan Foss made a difficult decision to depart from the Fife Flyers to finish his career in North America in a playoff series, however, fortunately Curran was on the ball and brought in 24 year old Evan MacKinnon. Jonas Emmerdahl also made the decision to re-sign for the Flyers and he is reported to has said it was not a difficult decision to come back and help his old team out. According to EP, Noah Delmas is out for the remainder of the 24/25 season due to a lower body injruy, and Aiden Wilson is still out reportedly with a broken foot which according to EP he was expected to return early February but has yet to return and Jordy Stallard is an injury resevre replacement.

Danny Stewart took over the helm at the Nottingham Panthers in the offseason with one main goal in his sights and that was bringing success back to the club after a very difficult year. Stewart used his long time coaching experience to recruit a team which could compete with the rest of the league; such as; Didrik Henbrant, Samuel Herr, Jason Grande. Jason Grande is an excellent goalie who has good vision, reflexes and is able to use both the butterfly position and the RVH position too, this skillset has allowed him to win 12 out 19 games, get two shutouts and have a 94.27svs%. Didrik Henbrant has been Nottingham’s best player all season long with scoring 39 points in 41 games for a 0.95ppg, he also has a +27 +/- stat which demonstrates his ability to play a 200ft game and demonstrates not only his offensive awareness but also his defensive awareness and it is clear he has a veteran hockey IQ. Zsombor Garat, the only player in the league this season from Hungary and he is one of the best Dmen in the league at the moment as he carries 19 points in 41 games along with a superlative +31 +/- stat, shows his ability on the ice is outstanding he can play a slik fast offensive game but also a hard hitting, strong stick checking defensive game. According to EP, no player is out due to injury as Quinn Wichers has now returned to the ice.

We now go back to our three main stats which we look at to gather a picture on the game and to see who the favourites is. Given the unfortunate situation the FIfe Flyers find themselves in the Nottingham Panthers are the strong favourites to win this game but it is important to never underestimate the underdogs.

Fife Flyers Nottingham Panthers

FACEOFFS:           41.59%     47.67%

POWERPLAYS:         17.70%     15.32%

PENALTY KILLS:      72.36%     80.51%

The Fife Flyers have a stronger powerplay than the Nottingham Panthers however, the Panthers are better at defending penalties and at winning faceoffs which will be key in tonights game. We will also look at both teams current form in the last five games and the last five games H2H.

Fife Flyers Nottingham Panthers

LAST 5 GAMES:       LLLWL     LLWWW

LAST 5 H2H GAMES:   LLLLL     WWWWW

The Fife Flyers have only won one game in their last five games which was a shootout game against the Glasgow CLan and then the Nottingham Panthers are currently on a three game win streak and will be looking to continue this. Given the last five H2H games it would be highly expected for the Nottingham Panthers to win.

Game Four: Coventry Blaze v Guildford Flames

The last game of Sunday is the Coventry Blaze and Guildford Flames which in other words is fifth v sixth which will se the winner be fifth at the end of the night. 

The Coventry Blaze are only behind fourth place Cardiff Devils by four points but are only ahead of sixth placed Guildford Flames by one point which means this is a must win game for themselves. Coventry Blaze are under new coaching team of Kevin Moore and Zach Vinnell. The team Moore signed was a gamble as it was mainly youth players turning professional which had a few fans skepcal about whether it would work or not and it has worked. He signed some great players such as: Chase Gresock, Nick Seitz, and Michael Regush. Chase Gresock is a player which the whole league has taken note off as he is one of the best players in the league this year as he is currently on 49 points in 45 games which means he has a 1.09ppg. He is a well balanced player who can be a sharpshotoer but also be a playmaker which is a handy skillset as he can when in difficult situations create scoring opportunities for his teammates. Moore made a strange move by approaching a young 16 year old Brynley Capps and signing him to a three year contract; and it was a good move as he now has the talented Capps on the team until Capps is 19 years old, Capps scored his first professional career point against the Fife Flyers on November 24th 2024 in a 9-2 win. According to EP, Jakob Skridsberg will miss the remainder of the 24/25 season due to requiring surgery. 

The Guildford Flames decided to stick with long time HC Paul Dixon who is wanting to chase silver after last years playoff and Challenge Cup run were unsuccessful. He stuck with a fairly similar team as the past few seasons just minus one of his best Dmen, Ben O’Connor but instead he made solid signings like: Ethan Strang, Jack Jacome, and Matt Alvaro. Ethan Strang has had a wonderful season so far scoring 39 points demonstrating his sharpshooting skills has he is able to hit powerful snapshots before the goalie can react but he has also got a mean saucer pass on him which allows him to get the puck to his teammates whilst making it difficult to intercept. Daniel Tedesco laced up for the Flames this season instead of the Belfast Giants and he has found success on the ice scoring 32 points in 41 game for a 0.78ppg. Ryan Tait has been one of the most disciplined players on the ice each night as he has only picked up four penalty minutes {which is the equivalent to two minor penalties} in 45 games. According to EP, Jake Coughler is out due to an undisclosed injury and Kyle Locke is out due to recovering from a surgery and will miss the remainder of the 24/25 season. Austin Glover and James Shearer are both injury reserve replacements.

We will revisit our three main stats to get an idea of the teams lacing up for this middle table battle:

Coventry Blaze Guildford Flames

FACEOFFS:           48.13%     51.97%

POWERPLAYS:         27.70%     23.88%

PENALTY KILLS:      82.43%     77.70%

The Guildford Flames are expected to dominate the faceoff front however, the Coventry Blaze have the stronger special teams for when they are required so this will be a close tight matchup, to see who is the favourites we had to compare the last five games and the last five H2H games.

Coventry Blaze Guildford Flames

LAST 5 GAMES:       LLWLW     LWWWL

LAST 5 H2H GAMES:   LWLWL     WLWLW

The Coventry Blaze aren’t on as good as form as the Guildford Flames however, they aren’t doing much worse though with them winning two of their last five and Flames winning three of their last five. The head-to-head record between these two teams has been a back-and-forth affair, with both teams taking turns winning in recent matchups. This suggests that this game could be closely contested, with no clear favorite emerging based on previous encounters.

A Critical Day for Playoff Contenders

This Sunday will see eight teams battle it out, each vying for crucial finishing positions in the league. With teams competing for playoff spots, higher rankings, and even the title, the matchups are expected to be fiercely contested. Given the close skill levels across most of the teams, fans can look forward to an action-packed Sunday filled with high-stakes hockey.

Written by Calan Yule

Last Edited: 0504

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