2022–23 EIHL season

2022–23 EIHL season
LeagueElite Ice Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Duration
  • 10 September 2022 – 16 April 2023
Number of matches330
Number of teams10
Total attendance1,004,000
Average attendance3,148
Regular season
League championsBelfast Giants
Season MVPScott Conway (Belfast Giants)
Top scorerScott Conway (Belfast Giants)
Challenge Cup
WinnersBelfast Giants
  Runners-upFife Flyers
British Championship
ChampionsBelfast Giants
  Runners-upCardiff Devils
EIHL seasons

The 2022–23 EIHL season was the 19th season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season commenced on 10 September 2022, and finished on 2 April 2023; the playoffs were then contested over 7 to 16 April 2023.[1]

The Belfast Giants became the first team since the Nottingham Panthers in 2012–13, and third overall,[2] to win a Grand Slam of titles – winning the league, playoff and Challenge Cup titles. Either side of their 9–3 Challenge Cup final victory over the Fife Flyers,[3] the Giants won 25 of their last 30 league games to overhaul long-time league leaders, the Guildford Flames, to win the regular season title for a record sixth time – taking the title with a 6–1 home victory over the Flames.[4] After seeing off the Glasgow Clan and the Panthers in the first two playoff rounds, the Giants met the Cardiff Devils for the third consecutive final, with the Devils having won the previous two meetings.[5] Having fallen behind to Mark Richardson's first-period goal, the Giants then scored four goals without reply to take their first playoff title since 2009–10 to complete the Grand Slam.[2]

Teams

The same ten teams that competed in 2021–22 competed in the 2022–23 season.

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Locations of the EIHL 2022–23 teams
Team City/Town Arena Capacity
Belfast Giants Belfast SSE Arena Belfast 8,700
Cardiff Devils Wales Cardiff Ice Arena Wales 3,088
Coventry Blaze England Coventry Coventry Skydome 3,000
Dundee Stars Scotland Dundee Dundee Ice Arena 2,400
Fife Flyers Scotland Kirkcaldy Fife Ice Arena 3,525
Glasgow Clan Scotland Glasgow Braehead Arena 4,000
Guildford Flames England Guildford Guildford Spectrum 2,001
Manchester Storm England Altrincham Altrincham Ice Dome 2,351
Nottingham Panthers England Nottingham Motorpoint Arena Nottingham 7,500
Sheffield Steelers England Sheffield Utilita Arena Sheffield 9,300

Regular season

League standings

Each team played 54 games, playing each of the other nine teams six times: three times on home ice, and three times away from home.[6] Points were awarded for each game, where two points were awarded for all victories, regardless of whether it was in regulation time or after overtime or game-winning shots. One point was awarded for losing in overtime or game-winning shots, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the league champion, and qualified for the 2023–24 Champions Hockey League. The top eight teams qualified for the playoffs.

The Belfast Giants won a record third consecutive Elite Ice Hockey League regular season title (and sixth overall), with a 6–1 home victory over their closest rivals, the Guildford Flames on 1 April 2023.[4][7]

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Belfast Giants (C) 54 37 4 2 11 231 120 +111 84 Regular season champions
Qualification to playoffs
2 Guildford Flames 54 31 9 2 12 209 159 +50 82 Qualification to playoffs
3 Sheffield Steelers 54 32 4 5 13 190 129 +61 77
4 Cardiff Devils 54 29 6 5 14 192 142 +50 75
5 Coventry Blaze 54 25 8 6 15 200 161 +39 72
6 Manchester Storm 54 20 2 4 28 163 203 −40 48
7 Nottingham Panthers 54 15 6 5 28 149 191 −42 47
8 Glasgow Clan 54 13 2 5 34 134 203 −69 35
9 Fife Flyers 54 12 2 6 34 118 193 −75 34
10 Dundee Stars 54 11 2 5 36 142 227 −85 31
Source: Elite League
Rules for classification:
  • In-season: 1) Points; 2) Fewest games played; end of season criteria as below.
  • End of season: 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) Goal difference; 9) Fewest penalty minutes; 10) Drawing of lots.

(C) Champion

Results

Home \ Away BEL CAR COV DUN FIF GLA GUI MAN NOT SHE BEL CAR COV DUN FIF GLA GUI MAN NOT SHE BEL CAR COV DUN FIF GLA GUI MAN NOT SHE
Belfast — 9–3 7–0 3–2
(SO) 		8–0 1–0 2–4 2–5 5–2 5–3 — 3–1 6–1 4–3 3–1 6–3 2–1 4–5 3–4
(SO) 		1–0
(SO) 		— 4–5
(OT) 		1–3 5–2 9–4 8–0 6–1 9–1 6–1 8–2
Cardiff 2–4 — 1–2
(OT) 		6–4 7–4 6–3 4–2 8–1 5–1 2–5 4–2 — 4–1 5–3 7–1 5–1 2–5 4–1 6–2 3–1 4–1 — 3–4
(OT) 		5–4
(SO) 		4–0 5–1 3–1 1–2 4–5
(OT) 		4–0
Coventry 4–5 2–3
(OT) 		— 7–2 3–2 4–3
(OT) 		4–5 5–4 2–1 2–3 3–5 6–0 — 4–0 1–0
(SO) 		3–0 3–4
(OT) 		9–0 6–3 5–4
(SO) 		2–4 4–2 — 3–5 5–0 4–1 2–4 4–3 7–4 4–3
(SO)
Dundee 1–7 5–3 1–5 — 4–2 6–3 0–5 4–5
(OT) 		4–2 1–7 2–3
(OT) 		4–5 4–3
(SO) 		— 3–2 1–4 2–5 3–1 4–5
(OT) 		0–5 9–2 1–4 3–6 — 1–4 1–3 4–6 3–5 1–2 2–5
Fife 2–3 3–4
(OT) 		5–3 2–4 — 2–3 3–5 1–5 6–1 1–5 2–7 0–3 2–3 4–1 — 4–5
(SO) 		1–2
(OT) 		5–4
(SO) 		1–4 2–3 2–5 3–4
(OT) 		3–2
(OT) 		4–0 — 1–5 2–6 2–0 3–2 0–1
(SO)
Glasgow 1–4 0–5 4–5
(SO) 		6–1 1–2 — 2–4 3–0 2–3
(SO) 		0–3 3–4
(OT) 		3–2
(OT) 		4–1 2–3
(OT) 		3–1 — 2–3 2–3 1–3 1–7 0–4 3–4 3–5 5–2 4–2 — 1–5 2–6 5–8 3–6
Guildford 4–3 5–4
(OT) 		4–3 6–3 5–3 2–1 — 4–3
(OT) 		4–3
(OT) 		1–4 2–1 3–0 5–4
(SO) 		4–2 4–2 5–3 — 5–6 5–4 3–4 1–6 2–4 2–3 7–3 5–0 5–4 — 6–4 3–4
(SO) 		1–4
Manchester 2–5 0–3 4–5
(OT) 		5–2 5–6 6–3 3–6 — 7–1 4–5 0–3 1–2
(SO) 		1–5 5–4 1–5 2–4 8–1 — 2–0 3–6 1–4 1–4 3–4 3–2 4–2 6–2 2–9 — 1–4 3–1
Nottingham 5–4 5–2 1–6 6–2 1–3 6–2 4–3
(OT) 		1–3 — 1–5 3–5 5–2 6–4 4–2 1–6 4–2 2–4 1–5 — 3–4
(OT) 		0–2 3–1 2–4 1–5 4–0 1–2 1–2
(SO) 		3–4
(OT) 		— 1–4
Sheffield 2–1 1–3 5–4
(SO) 		1–2 6–0 6–2 3–4
(OT) 		7–1 3–2
(SO) 		— 2–3 2–3 4–1 9–4 3–0 2–4 2–4 4–2 3–2 — 0–4 3–2 3–5 2–1 1–0 5–4 4–5
(OT) 		3–1 4–1 —
Source: Elite League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.[8] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Scott Conway Belfast Giants 51 40 50 90 +53 56
Daniel Tedesco Guildford Flames 53 31 49 80 +25 16
David Goodwin Belfast Giants 53 15 55 70 +53 8
Brett Ferguson Guildford Flames 53 22 45 67 +32 90
Trevor Cox Cardiff Devils 53 16 50 66 +33 14
Cole Sanford Cardiff Devils 52 38 27 65 +34 38
Ryan Tait Guildford Flames 54 28 34 62 +19 6
Philippe Sanche Dundee Stars 49 24 36 60 −10 39
Marcus Crawford Cardiff Devils 54 9 48 57 +47 87
Joey Martin Cardiff Devils 53 22 34 56 +23 27

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.[9]

Player Team(s) GP TOI W L GA SO SV% GAA
Taran Kozun Cardiff Devils 25 1368:01 16 6 50 3 92.80% 2.19
Matt Greenfield Sheffield Steelers 53 3176:49 36 17 117 7 92.01% 2.21
Jackson Whistle Belfast Giants 26 1424:07 17 7 53 3 91.76% 2.23
Taz Burman Guildford Flames 22 1322:52 19 3 59 3 90.48% 2.68
Paavo Hölsä Coventry Blaze 47 2824:15 28 18 128 6 90.72% 2.72

Playoffs

Bracket

In the two-legged quarter-finals, the highest-ranked team met the lowest-ranked team, the second-highest-ranked team met the second-lowest-ranked team and so forth. The winners of each tie was determined by aggregate scoring over the two games. In the semi-finals, the highest remaining seed was matched against the lowest remaining seed, with the other two teams facing off. The winners of the semi-finals progressed to the Final, with the losers playing in the third-place match.

Quarter-finals
(7–9 April) 		Semi-finals
(15 April) 		Final
(16 April)
           
1 Belfast Giants 4 3 7
8 Glasgow Clan 2 4 6
1 Belfast Giants 6
7 Nottingham Panthers 3
2 Guildford Flames 1 5 6
7 Nottingham Panthers 4 3 7
1 Belfast Giants 4
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
4 Cardiff Devils 1
3 Sheffield Steelers 2 5 7
6 Manchester Storm 2 2 4
3 Sheffield Steelers 2 Third place
4 Cardiff Devils 3
4 Cardiff Devils 5 1 6 3 Sheffield Steelers 7
5 Coventry Blaze 1 2 3 7 Nottingham Panthers 4

Quarter-finals

The quarter-final schedule was announced after the conclusion of the final-day regular season matches.[10]

(1) Belfast Giants vs. (8) Glasgow Clan

8 April 2023 Belfast Giants 4–2 Glasgow Clan SSE Arena Belfast Recap  
Mark Cooper (1) – 5:35 First period No scoring
Steven Owre (1) – 0:16 Second period
  • Gabe Bast (1; PPG) – 10:43
  • Steven Owre (2; PPG) – 13:31
 Third period No scoring
Tyler Beskorowany (16 shots / 14 saves) Goalie stats Ty Taylor (42 shots / 38 saves)
9 April 2023 Glasgow Clan 4–3 Belfast Giants Braehead Arena Recap  
First period
Kevin Massy (1; PPG) – 5:52 Second period 4:54 – Will Cullen (1)
Jeff Solow (1) – 8:00 Third period No scoring
Ty Taylor (35 shots / 32 saves) Goalie stats Tyler Beskorowany (24 shots / 20 saves)
Belfast Giants win 7–6 on aggregate.


(2) Guildford Flames vs. (7) Nottingham Panthers

8 April 2023 Nottingham Panthers 4–1 Guildford Flames Motorpoint Arena Nottingham Recap  
Stephen Anderson (1) – 6:43 First period No scoring
Second period No scoring
David Levin (1) – 6:36 Third period 11:24 – Daniel Tedesco (1)
Peyton Jones (33 shots / 32 saves) Goalie stats Eamon McAdam (30 shots / 26 saves)
9 April 2023 Guildford Flames 5–3 Nottingham Panthers Guildford Spectrum Recap  
First period
No scoring Second period No scoring
Third period 2:31 – Albin Lindgren (1)
Taz Burman (23 shots / 20 saves) Goalie stats Peyton Jones (40 shots / 35 saves)
Nottingham Panthers win 7–6 on aggregate.


(3) Sheffield Steelers vs. (6) Manchester Storm

7 April 2023 Manchester Storm 2–2 Sheffield Steelers Altrincham Ice Dome Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
No scoring Second period
Third period No scoring
Jeremy Brodeur (42 shots / 40 saves) Goalie stats Matt Greenfield (26 shots / 24 saves)
8 April 2023 Sheffield Steelers 5–2 Manchester Storm Sheffield Arena Recap  
First period 3:09 – Anthony DeLuca (1; PPG)
Second period No scoring
Danny Kristo (2) – 8:16 Third period 5:39 – Cole Carter (1)
Matt Greenfield (23 shots / 21 saves) Goalie stats Jeremy Brodeur (39 shots / 34 saves)
Sheffield Steelers win 7–4 on aggregate.


(4) Cardiff Devils vs. (5) Coventry Blaze

8 April 2023 Coventry Blaze 1–5 Cardiff Devils Coventry Skydome Recap  
John Curran (1) – 13:12 First period 17:42 – Brodie Reid (1)
No scoring Second period
No scoring Third period 16:34 – Trevor Cox (1)
Paavo Hölsä (34 shots / 29 saves) Goalie stats Ben Bowns (32 shots / 31 saves)
9 April 2023 Cardiff Devils 1–2 Coventry Blaze Ice Arena Wales Recap  
No scoring First period 6:19 – Kim Tallberg (1; PPG)
No scoring Second period 3:05 – Tyler Kirkup (1)
Jake Coughler (1; ENG) – 18:00 Third period No scoring
Ben Bowns (40 shots / 38 saves) Goalie stats Miklós Rajna (25 shots / 25 saves)
Cardiff Devils win 6–3 on aggregate.


Semi-finals

The schedule for the Playoff Finals weekend was announced after the conclusion of the quarter-final matches.[11]

15 April 2023
15:00		Belfast Giants6–3
(3–1, 1–1, 2–1)		Nottingham PanthersMotorpoint Arena Nottingham
Game reference
Tyler BeskorowanyGoaliesPeyton JonesReferees:
Matt Rose
Andy Dalton
Linesmen:
Scott Rodger
Ilia Kisil
Steven Owre (3) – 2:071–0
Sean Norris (1) – 5:122–0
Ben Lake (1) – 9:583–0
3–112:11 – Jack Hopkins (1; PPG)
David Goodwin (1) – 24:494–1
4–233:00 – Stephen Anderson (2)
Ben Lake (2) – 47:315–2
5–351:41 – Jakub Ižacký (1)
Sean Norris (2) – 52:526–3
6 minPenalties4 min
24Shots41
15 April 2023
19:00		Sheffield Steelers2–3 (OT)
(2–1, 0–0, 0–1, 0–1)		Cardiff DevilsMotorpoint Arena Nottingham
Game reference
Matt GreenfieldGoaliesBen BownsReferees:
Tom Pering
Liam Sewell
Linesmen:
Danny Beresford
Lee Young
Robert Dowd (1) – 8:041–0
Scott Allen (2; PPG) – 12:162–0
2–112:58 – Trevor Cox (2)
2–253:23 – Ben Davies (1)
2–362:07 – Jake Coughler (2; PPG)
6 minPenalties4 min
30Shots36

Third-place match

16 April 2023
13:00		Sheffield Steelers7–4
(3–2, 1–1, 3–1)		Nottingham PanthersMotorpoint Arena Nottingham
Game reference
Goalies
Referees:
David Good
Daniel Ferguson
Linesmen:
Ethan Hardy
Lewis Dolan
Niklas Nevalainen (1) – 7:581–0
1–114:56 – Matthew Myers (1)
Scott Allen (3; SHG) – 17:192–1
2–217:34 – Matthew Myers (2; PPG)
Robert Dowd (2) – 19:123–2
Brett Neumann (3) – 29:424–2
4–334:26 – Stephen Anderson (3)
4–441:36 – Jack Hopkins (2)
Calle Ackered (1) – 44:135–4
Niklas Nevalainen (2) – 52:306–4
Jonathan Phillips (1) – 54:417–4
2 minPenalties0 min
36Shots35

Final

16 April 2023
17:00		Belfast Giants4–1
(0–1, 1–0, 3–0)		Cardiff DevilsMotorpoint Arena Nottingham
Game reference
Tyler BeskorowanyGoaliesBen BownsReferees:
Tom Pering
Liam Sewell
Linesmen:
Lee Young
Ilia Kisil
0–119:58 – Mark Richardson (1)
Jeff Baum (1) – 37:201–1
Steven Owre (4) – 51:422–1
Donovan Neuls (1) – 52:383–1
Mark Cooper (2; ENG) – 57:214–1
2 minPenalties8 min
42Shots27

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the playoffs.[12] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Steven Owre Belfast Giants 4 4 2 6 +7 2
Scott Allen Sheffield Steelers 4 3 2 5 0 0
Stephen Anderson Nottingham Panthers 4 3 2 5 +3 0
Scott Conway Belfast Giants 4 2 3 5 +7 6
Danny Kristo Sheffield Steelers 4 2 3 5 –1 2
David Goodwin Belfast Giants 4 1 4 5 +9 0
Mike Hammond Nottingham Panthers 4 1 4 5 +3 0
Cole Sanford Cardiff Devils 4 0 5 5 +2 2
Ryan Tait Guildford Flames 2 3 1 4 +1 0
Brett Neumann Sheffield Steelers 4 3 1 4 0 2

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the playoffs.[13]

Player Team(s) GP TOI W L GA SO SV% GAA
Miklós Rajna Coventry Blaze 1 55:51 1 0 0 1 100.00% 0.00
Ben Bowns Cardiff Devils 4 239:31 2 2 8 0 94.41% 2.00
Matt Greenfield Sheffield Steelers 3 182:07 1 1 7 0 91.76% 2.31
Tyler Beskorowany Belfast Giants 4 240:00 3 1 10 0 90.83% 2.50
Taz Burman Guildford Flames 1 60:00 1 0 3 0 86.96% 3.00

References

  1. ^ "Fixtures for 2022/23 published". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b Marsh, Philip (16 April 2023). "Elite League play-offs: Belfast Giants beat Cardiff Devils to complete Grand Slam". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Giants win 2023 Viaplay Challenge Cup!". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  4. ^ a b McKinley, Stuart (1 April 2023). "Belfast Giants make history as they win third Elite League title in a row after hammering Flames". Belfast Telegraph. Mediahuis Ireland. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Playoff Final: Grand Slam or Four-peat?". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Elite League Info". Nottingham Panthers. Nottingham Panthers Limited. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Giants beat Flames to win third title in a row". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Statistics: Players". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Statistics: Goalies". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Welcome to the 2023 Viaplay Elite League Playoffs!". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Semi-Final Line-up Confirmed". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Statistics: Players". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Statistics: Goalies". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 16 April 2023.