2016–17 EIHL season
LeagueElite Ice Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationSeptember - March
Regular season
LeagueCardiff Devils[1]
Season MVPAndrew Hotham (Cardiff Devils)[2]
Top scorerMatt Beca (Braehead Clan)
75 points[3]
Challenge Cup
ChampionsCardiff Devils
Conference
Erhardt championsCardiff Devils[4]
  Erhardt runners-upBelfast Giants
Gardiner championsBraehead Clan[5]
  Gardiner runners-upDundee Stars
Playoffs
ChampionsSheffield Steelers[6]
  Runners-upCardiff Devils
Finals MVPBen Bowns (Cardiff Devils)[2]

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]

From the 2016–17 season, the number of non British-trained players rose from 13 to 14, while the number of work-permit players remained at 11, according to a rule change first introduced in 2014.[7]

Teams

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.

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.

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.

Playoffs

Bracket

Quarter-finals
(1–2 April) 		Semi-finals
(8 April) 		Grand Final
(9 April)
           
E1 Cardiff Devils 3 3 6
RS8 Manchester Storm 2 1 3
E1 Cardiff Devils 4
RS7 Dundee Stars 2
G1 Braehead Clan 1 0 1
RS7 Dundee Stars 3 3 6
E1 Cardiff Devils 5
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
RS3 Sheffield Steelers 6
RS3 Sheffield Steelers 2 5 7
RS4 Nottingham Panthers 5 1 6
RS3 Sheffield Steelers 2 Third place game
(9 April)
RS2 Belfast Giants 0
RS2 Belfast Giants 4 4 8 RS7 Dundee Stars 8
RS6 Fife Flyers 2 1 3 RS2 Belfast Giants 15

Quarter-finals

(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 Devils4–2
(0–2, 1–0, 3–0)		Dundee StarsNational Ice Centre, Nottingham
Game reference
Ben BownsGoaliesJoe FallonReferees:
Stefan Hogarth
Dean Smith
Linesmen:
Paul Staniforth
James Kavanagh
0–112:29 – Kevin Hart
0–218:13 – Brett Switzer
Joey Haddad – 26:571–2
Mark Louis – 43:402–2
Joey Martin – 51:273–2
Andrew Hotham (ENG) – 59:504–2
2 minPenalties2 min
37Shots26
8 April 2017
17:00		Sheffield Steelers2–0
(1–0, 0–0, 1–0)		Belfast GiantsNational Ice Centre, Nottingham
Game reference
Ervīns MuštukovsGoaliesStephen MurphyReferees:
Toby Craig
Tom Pering
Linesmen:
Lee Young
Allan Ward
Guillaume Desbiens – 4:151–0
Levi Nelson (PPG, ENG) – 59:352–0
2 minPenalties6 min
17Shots31

Third-place match

9 April 2017
12:00		Dundee Stars8–15
(4–4, 2–5, 2–6)		Belfast GiantsNational Ice Centre, Nottingham
Game reference
Craig Holland (57:49)
Joe Fallon (2:11)		GoaliesAndrew DicksonReferees:
Stefan Hogarth
Pavel Halas
Linesmen:
Danny Beresford
Lee Young
Vinny Scarsella – 5:511–0
1–17:27 – Blair Riley
Mikael Lidhammar – 7:362–1
2–29:15 – David Rutherford
Craig Moore – 11:273–2
3–312:53 – Ryan Martinelli
3–413:57 – Colin Shields
Kevin Bruijsten – 17:484–4
Matt White – 22:215–4
5–522:31 – Matt Towe
5–623:11 – David Rutherford (2)
5–728:26 – David Rutherford (3)
5–835:34 – Chris Higgins
Joey Sides – 36:506–8
6–937:08 – Michael Quesnele
Justin Faryna – 41:317–9
7–1042:58 – Jim Vandermeer
7–1150:46 – Michael Forney
7–1252:27 – Ryan Martinelli (2)
7–1352:52 – Colin Shields (2)
7–1455:16 – Michael Forney (2)
7–1558:47 – Adam Keefe
Justin Faryna (2) – 59:468–15
0 minPenalties0 min
38Shots43

Grand Final

9 April 2017
16:00		Sheffield Steelers6–5 (2OT)
(1–3, 4–1, 0–1, 0–0, 1–0)		Cardiff DevilsNational Ice Centre, Nottingham
Game reference
Ervīns MuštukovsGoaliesBen BownsReferees:
Toby Craig
Dean Smith
Linesmen:
Allan Ward
James Kavanagh
0–12:20 – Guillaume Doucet (PPG)
John Armstrong – 3:521–1
1–216:10 – Joey Haddad
1–319:17 – Joey Martin (PPG)
Geoff Walker – 24:242–3
Colton Fretter – 25:543–3
Levi Nelson (PPG) – 28:454–3
4–432:20 – Layne Ulmer
Geoff Walker (2) – 37:235–4
5–540:54 – Andrew Hotham (PPG)
Levi Nelson (2) – 94:086–5
10 minPenalties6 min
61Shots44

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

  1. 1 2 "Cardiff Devils beat Sheffield Steelers 6-2 to win Elite League". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Devils enjoy awards success". EliteLeague.co.uk. Elite Ice Hockey League. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Top Scorers". EliteLeague.co.uk. Elite Ice Hockey League. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  4. 1 2 "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.
  5. 1 2 "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.
  6. 1 2 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.
  7. ↑ "EIHL Rules Changes ahead of 2014/15". Eurohockey.com. 2014-04-30. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
  8. ↑ "Cardiff Devils win 2017 Challenge Cup". BBC Sport.
  9. ↑ "Top Goalies". EliteLeague.co.uk. Elite Ice Hockey League. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
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