2024–25 EIHL season
| 2024–25 EIHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Elite Ice Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration |
|
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Regular season | |
| Challenge Cup | |
| Playoffs | |
The 2024–25 EIHL season is the 21st season of the Elite Ice Hockey League, the highest level of domestic ice hockey played in the United Kingdom. The regular season began on 7 September 2024, and the final match day will be on 6 April 2025. The season again consists of three competitions; the League itself, consisting of ten teams in a six-round round-robin to crown a regular season EIHL champion; the top eight teams from the regular season enter the second competition, the EIHL playoffs, in which the quarter-finals will be held on the weekend of 12–13 April, with the Playoff final weekend to be held the following weekend to crown the British national champion for the year; and the Challenge Cup, involving group play and single elimination knock out rounds to crown a cup champion.[1][2] Sheffield Steelers enter the season as champion in all three trophies, having completed a domestic treble in 2023-24.
Teams
The same ten teams that competed in 2023–24 competed in the 2024–25 season.
| Team | City/Town | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast Giants | Northern Ireland Belfast | SSE Arena Belfast | 8,700 |
| Cardiff Devils | Wales Cardiff | Vindico Arena | 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 |
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EIHL Regular season
League standings
Each team plays 54 games, playing each of the other nine teams six times: three times on home ice, and three times away from home. Points are awarded for each game, two points are awarded for all victories, regardless of whether it was in regulation time or after overtime or game-winning shots. One point is 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 finishes with the most points will be crowned the league champion, and may qualify for the 2025–26 Champions Hockey League. The top eight teams will qualify for the playoffs.[3]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff Devils | 17 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 65 | 32 | +33 | 28 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 2 | Coventry Blaze | 14 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 56 | 36 | +20 | 21 | |
| 3 | Guildford Flames | 16 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 19 | |
| 4 | Sheffield Steelers | 14 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 59 | 41 | +18 | 18 | |
| 5 | Belfast Giants | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 50 | 39 | +11 | 18 | |
| 6 | Nottingham Panthers | 15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 16 | |
| 7 | Dundee Stars | 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 48 | 64 | −16 | 13 | |
| 8 | Glasgow Clan | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 36 | 58 | −22 | 10 | |
| 9 | Manchester Storm | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 42 | 67 | −25 | 8 | |
| 10 | Fife Flyers | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 40 | 74 | −34 | 6 |
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.
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of games played on 1 December 2024.[4] 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elijiah Barriga | Belfast Giants | 14 | 11 | 9 | 20 | +15 | 0 |
| Josh MacDonald | Cardiff Devils | 17 | 10 | 10 | 20 | +10 | 0 |
| Zach O'Brien | Cardiff Devils | 17 | 9 | 11 | 20 | +12 | 0 |
| Alessio Luciani | Coventry Blaze | 14 | 8 | 12 | 20 | +9 | 7 |
| Cole Sanford | Cardiff Devils | 16 | 9 | 10 | 19 | +11 | 16 |
| Lucas Chiodo | Fife Flyers | 15 | 6 | 13 | 19 | +6 | 6 |
| Michael Cichy | Fife Flyers | 15 | 11 | 7 | 18 | +6 | 4 |
| Nick Seitz | Coventry Blaze | 14 | 10 | 8 | 18 | +8 | 0 |
| Grant Hebert | Manchester Storm | 14 | 8 | 10 | 18 | +5 | 10 |
| Scott Conway | Belfast Giants | 14 | 7 | 11 | 18 | +10 | 10 |
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 games played on 1 December 2024.[5]
| Player | Team(s) | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Bowns | Cardiff Devils | 12 | 717:25 | 10 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 94.07% | 1.92 |
| Matt Greenfield | Sheffield Steelers | 9 | 542:42 | 8 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 92.31% | 2.10 |
| Jake Kupsky | Guildford Flames | 8 | 477:38 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 93.18% | 2.26 |
| Ryan Bednard | Nottingham Panthers | 13 | 760:53 | 8 | 5 | 30 | 0 | 91.40% | 2.37 |
| Tom McCollum | Belfast Giants | 10 | 606:12 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 1 | 90.91% | 2.47 |
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is split into two stages: an initial group stage where the league's ten teams were divided into two groups based on geographical distance – one group of six teams (Group A) and a group of four teams (Group B).[6] The teams in Group A (the five English clubs plus Cardiff Devils} play each of the other teams twice for a total of ten games, while the teams in Group B (the three Scottish clubs plus Belfast Giants) play each of the other teams four times for a total of twelve games. The top two teams in Group A and the winners of Group B qualify for the semi-finals. The runners-up in Group B will face the third-placed team in Group A in a one-off game, held at the arena of the team with a higher group stage points percentage, to determine the final semi-finalist.[7]
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield Steelers (Q) | 10 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 16 | Qualification to semi-finals |
| 2 | Nottingham Panthers (Y) | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 13 | |
| 3 | Coventry Blaze | 9 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 31 | −2 | 12 | Qualification to play-in match |
| 4 | Cardiff Devils | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 9 | |
| 5 | Manchester Storm (E) | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 9 | |
| 6 | Guildford Flames (E) | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 23 | 35 | −12 | 5 |
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.
(E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated; (Y) Assured of a top-three finish
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belfast Giants | 12 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 24 | +25 | 21 | Qualification to semi-finals |
| 2 | Glasgow Clan | 12 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 15 | Qualification to play-in match |
| 3 | Dundee Stars | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 38 | 41 | −3 | 9 | |
| 4 | Fife Flyers | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 28 | 56 | −28 | 7 |
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) Goal difference; 9) Fewest penalty minutes; 10) Drawing of lots.
Knockout stage
Bracket
| Play-in match | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| 1 | Belfast Giants | ||||||||||||
| 4 | TBD | TBD | |||||||||||
| 5 | TBD | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Sheffield Steelers | ||||||||||||
| TBD | |||||||||||||
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of games played on 1 December 2024.[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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Kawaguchi | Belfast Giants | 11 | 6 | 11 | 17 | +10 | 4 |
| Deven Sideroff | Glasgow Clan | 12 | 8 | 7 | 15 | +9 | 6 |
| Phélix Martineau | Fife Flyers | 12 | 7 | 8 | 15 | –5 | 6 |
| Chase Gresock | Coventry Blaze | 9 | 6 | 9 | 15 | +9 | 12 |
| Mark Cooper | Belfast Giants | 12 | 7 | 7 | 14 | +5 | 6 |
| Scott Conway | Belfast Giants | 10 | 5 | 9 | 14 | +9 | 8 |
| Ryan Hughes | Manchester Storm | 10 | 5 | 9 | 14 | –4 | 6 |
| Mitchell Heard | Glasgow Clan | 12 | 2 | 12 | 14 | +8 | 53 |
| Domenico Alberga | Dundee Stars | 12 | 5 | 8 | 13 | +5 | 11 |
| J. J. Piccinich | Belfast Giants | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 | +11 | 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 games played on 1 December 2024.[9]
| Player | Team(s) | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Whistle | Belfast Giants | 7 | 425:51 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 92.12% | 1.83 |
| Tom McCollum | Belfast Giants | 5 | 303:20 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 94.15% | 1.98 |
| Ryan Bednard | Nottingham Panthers | 6 | 356:03 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 92.57% | 2.19 |
| Landon Bow | Glasgow Clan | 7 | 420:04 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 91.86% | 2.57 |
| Lucas Brine | Glasgow Clan | 5 | 295:28 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 89.26% | 2.64 |
References
- ↑ "2024/25 Schedule Released!". EIHL. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ↑ "Gamecentre". EIHL. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ↑ "Standings 2024/2025 Elite Ice Hockey League". EIHL. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ↑ "Statistics: Players – Elite Ice Hockey League 2024/2025". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ↑ "Statistics: Goalies – Elite Ice Hockey League 2024/2025". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ↑ Crow, Allan (13 May 2024). "EIHL's new Challenge Cup format revealed after fans' survey criticism – and it still feels clunky". Fife Free Press. National World. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ↑ "New Challenge Cup format for 2024/25". EIHL. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ↑ "Statistics: Players – Challenge Cup 2024/2025". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
- ↑ "Statistics: Goalies – Challenge Cup 2024/2025". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 1 December 2024.