2023–24 EIHL season explained

2023–24 EIHL season
League:Elite Ice Hockey League
Sport:Ice hockey
Prevseason Year:2022–23
No Of Matches:330
No Of Teams:10
Attendance:1,133,816
Average Attendance:3,532
Season:Regular season
Season Champs:Sheffield Steelers
Mvp:Matt Greenfield (Sheffield Steelers)
Season2:Challenge Cup
Season Champ2 Name:Winners
Season Champs2:Sheffield Steelers
Second Place2:Guildford Flames
Finals:Playoffs
Finals Champ:Sheffield Steelers
Finals Runner-Up:Belfast Giants
Seasonslistnames:EIHL
Nextseason Year:2024–25

The 2023–24 EIHL season was the 20th anniversary season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season commenced on 23 September 2023, and the final match day was on 7 April 2024; the playoff quarter-finals were held over the weekend of 14 April and the Playoff final weekend was held the following weekend.[1]

The Sheffield Steelers won their sixth league title – and first since 2015–16[2] – having opened up an unassailable 14-point lead over the Cardiff Devils with a 7–3 victory over the Guildford Flames on 24 March 2024. The Steelers had also won the Challenge Cup 11 days earlier, beating the Flames 3–1 in the final.[3] The Steelers ultimately completed their first Grand Slam in the EIHL era, defeating the Belfast Giants 3–1 in the playoff final.[4]

The season was marred by the death of Nottingham Panthers forward Adam Johnson during a Challenge Cup match between the Panthers and the Sheffield Steelers,[5] held on 28 October, at the Sheffield Arena.[6] Johnson had suffered a cut to his neck by the blade of a skate,[7] and received emergency treatment on the ice before being transferred to the Northern General Hospital, but died from his injuries.[6] The EIHL postponed all scheduled matches for the following day, 29 October,[8] and subsequent matches on 31 October and 1 November were also postponed.[9] [10] Teams returned to action on 4 November, with the exception of Sheffield and Nottingham,[10] who returned to the ice a week and two weeks later.

Teams

The same ten teams that competed in 2022–23 competed in the 2023–24 season.

Belfast Giants BelfastSSE Arena Belfast8,700
Cardiff Devils CardiffVindico Arena3,088
Coventry Blaze CoventryCoventry Skydome3,000
Dundee Stars DundeeDundee Ice Arena2,400
Fife Flyers KirkcaldyFife Ice Arena3,525
Glasgow Clan GlasgowBraehead Arena4,000
Guildford Flames GuildfordGuildford Spectrum2,001
Manchester Storm AltrinchamAltrincham Ice Dome2,351
Nottingham Panthers NottinghamMotorpoint Arena Nottingham7,500
Sheffield Steelers SheffieldUtilita Arena Sheffield9,300

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.[11] 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 2024–25 Champions Hockey League. The top eight teams qualified for the playoffs.

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.[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.

PlayerTeam
Sheffield Steelers54234366+238
Fife Flyers52283260+126
Dundee Stars53273360–1118
Dundee Stars54322759+12
Cardiff Devils54292958+1356
Sheffield Steelers53223658+2716
Glasgow Clan54272956–2530
Cardiff Devils5445155+2570
Sheffield Steelers49242953+2738
Fife Flyers47223153+228

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.[13]

PlayerTeam(s)
Sheffield Steelers472826:0038991892.96%1.93
Guildford Flames301794:44141575291.88%2.51
Manchester Storm472795:172323118392.93%2.53
Cardiff Devils382257:12251297592.38%2.58
Belfast Giants362049:28211496189.39%2.81

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

The quarter-final schedule was announced on 7 April 2024, following the conclusion of the final-day regular season matches.[14]

(4) Manchester Storm vs. (5) Guildford Flames

Semi-finals

Following the conclusion of the quarter-final matchups, the schedule for the Finals weekend was confirmed.

----

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the playoffs.[15] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.

PlayerTeam
Guildford Flames4426+10
Sheffield Steelers4336+20
Guildford Flames4325+50
Sheffield Steelers4145+62
Sheffield Steelers4145+30
Sheffield Steelers4314+32
Guildford Flames4314+32
Cardiff Devils422402
Sheffield Steelers4224+34
Sheffield Steelers4134+40

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.[16]

PlayerTeam(s)
Belfast Giants4246:22215094.57%1.22
Coventry Blaze2117:58013094.92%1.53
Cardiff Devils3188:05216094.83%1.91
Guildford Flames3177:39216193.75%2.03
Sheffield Steelers3180:00308089.61%2.67

Challenge Cup

The Challenge Cup was split into two stages: an initial group stage where the league's ten teams were divided into three groups based on geographical distance – one group of four teams (Group A) and two groups of three teams (Groups B and C). The three group winners, along with the five best remaining teams on win percentage qualified for the knockout stage. The quarter-finals and semi-finals were held over two legs, with a one-off final.[17]

Group stage

Group C

Following the death of Adam Johnson, the Nottingham Panthers withdrew from the Challenge Cup on 8 November 2023.[18] The game between the Sheffield Steelers and Nottingham, which was being led 2–1 by Sheffield at the time of its abandonment, was not considered in the standings or for potential tie-breaking scenarios between Sheffield and the Belfast Giants.[19]

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

Following the conclusion of the league phase of the Challenge Cup, the quarter-final matchups (except for Belfast–Coventry) were determined on 29 November 2023.[20] The Belfast–Coventry game dates were confirmed two days later.[21]

(4) Fife Flyers vs. (5) Guildford Flames

Semi-finals

The game dates for the Sheffield–Coventry matchup were confirmed on 21 December 2023, with the Guildford–Glasgow matchup dates not confirmed until 4 January 2024.[22] [23]

(5) Guildford Flames vs. (6) Glasgow Clan

Final

As number 1 seeds, the Sheffield Steelers hosted the final on 13 March, at Sheffield Arena.

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the Challenge Cup.[24] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.

PlayerTeam
Sheffield Steelers1261117+74
Sheffield Steelers1251015+112
Guildford Flames139514+32
Sheffield Steelers116814+92
Sheffield Steelers124913+710
Cardiff Devils106612+84
Cardiff Devils1011112+1012
Guildford Flames138311+34
Belfast Giants74711+52
Sheffield Steelers1201111+96

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 Challenge Cup.[25]

PlayerTeam(s)
Sheffield Steelers8453:478011094.47%1.45
Belfast Giants6354:234112090.77%2.03
Cardiff Devils6342:274213192.40%2.28
Guildford Flames6341:014113191.03%2.29
Glasgow Clan6329:453213192.74%2.37

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gamecentre . 2023-06-30 . EIHL . en.
  2. News: Steelers win 2023/24 Elite League title!. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 24 March 2024. 24 March 2024.
  3. News: Phil. Harrison. Sheffield Steelers 3 Guildford Flames 1 - Steelers up and running as they secure first piece of silverware in Challenge Cup. The Yorkshire Post. Yorkshire Post Newspapers. 13 March 2024. 24 March 2024.
  4. News: Steelers complete season Grand Slam with play-off win. BBC Sport. BBC. 21 April 2024. 21 April 2024.
  5. News: Adam Johnson: Nottingham Panthers forward dies after neck cut in Challenge Cup match. BBC Sport. BBC. 29 October 2023. 29 October 2023.
  6. News: Adam Johnson: Nottingham Panthers player dies after 'freak accident' in ice hockey match against Sheffield Steelers. Sky Sports. Sky UK. 29 October 2023. 29 October 2023.
  7. News: Tom. Morgan. Adam Johnson: Nottingham Panthers ice hockey player dies after throat cut by opponent's blade. The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 29 October 2023. 29 October 2023.
  8. News: EIHL Statement: Adam Johnson. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 29 October 2023. 29 October 2023.
  9. News: Club Statement: Upcoming fixtures. Nottingham Panthers. Nottingham Panthers Limited. 29 October 2023. 29 October 2023.
  10. News: Adam Johnson: Elite League postpones midweek games after death of Nottingham Panthers forward. BBC Sport. BBC. 31 October 2023. 1 November 2023.
  11. Web site: Elite League Info . 30 October 2022 . . Nottingham Panthers Limited.
  12. Web site: Statistics: Players - Elite Ice Hockey League 2023/2024. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 7 April 2024.
  13. Web site: Statistics: Goalies - Elite Ice Hockey League 2023/2024. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 7 April 2024.
  14. News: Line-up set for Playoff Quarter-Finals. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 7 April 2024. 7 April 2024.
  15. Web site: Statistics: Players - Elite Ice Hockey League 2023/2024 - Playoffs. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 21 April 2024.
  16. Web site: Statistics: Goalies - Elite Ice Hockey League 2023/2024 - Playoffs. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 21 April 2024.
  17. News: 2023/24 Challenge Cup Format. Elite Ice Hockey League. 29 June 2023. 23 September 2023.
  18. News: Eight-time winners Nottingham Panthers withdraw from Challenge Cup after Adam Johnson death. ITV News. ITV plc. 9 November 2023. 10 November 2023.
  19. News: Tie-breaking in the Challenge Cup. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 22 November 2023. 25 November 2023.
  20. News: Challenge Cup Quarter-Finals set. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 29 November 2023. 2 December 2023.
  21. News: Challenge Cup Quarter Final Dates Confirmed. Coventry Blaze. 1 December 2023. 2 December 2023.
  22. News: Semi Final Dates Confirmed Vs Coventry Blaze. Sheffield Steelers. 21 December 2023. 4 January 2024.
  23. News: Flames vs. Clan Cup SFs scheduled. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 4 January 2024. 4 January 2024.
  24. Web site: Statistics: Players - Challenge Cup 2023/2024. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 13 March 2024.
  25. Web site: Statistics: Goalies - Challenge Cup 2023/2024. Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 13 March 2024.