2016–17 EIHL season

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]

2016–17 EIHL season
League	Elite Ice Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	September - March
Number of matches	260
Total attendance	746,816
Average attendance	2,872
Regular season
League	Cardiff Devils[1]
Season MVP	Andrew Hotham (Cardiff Devils)[2]
Top scorer	Matt Beca (Braehead Clan) 75 points[3]
Challenge Cup
Champions	Cardiff Devils
Conference
Erhardt champions	Cardiff Devils[4]
Erhardt runners-up	Belfast Giants
Gardiner champions	Braehead Clan[5]
Gardiner runners-up	Dundee Stars
Playoffs
Champions	Sheffield Steelers[6]
Runners-up	Cardiff Devils
Finals MVP	Ben Bowns (Cardiff Devils)[2]

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

Erhardt Conference Team City/Town Arena Capacity Belfast Giants Belfast SSE Arena Belfast 7,200 Cardiff Devils Cardiff Ice Arena Wales 3,088 Coventry Blaze Coventry SkyDome Arena 3,000 Nottingham Panthers Nottingham National Ice Centre 7,500 Sheffield Steelers Sheffield Motorpoint Arena 8,500

Gardiner Conference Team City/Town Arena Capacity Braehead Clan Glasgow Braehead Arena 4,000 Dundee Stars Dundee Dundee Ice Arena 2,400 Edinburgh Capitals Edinburgh Murrayfield Ice Rink 3,700 Fife Flyers Kirkcaldy Fife Ice Arena 3,525 Manchester Storm Altrincham Altrincham Ice Dome 2,000

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 Attendance: 3,088	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 Attendance: 1,598	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 Attendance: 1,400	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 Attendance: 3,525	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 Attendance: 5,840	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 Attendance: 7,168	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 Attendance: 5,589	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 Attendance: 2,138	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 Devils

4–2 (0–2, 1–0, 3–0)

Dundee Stars

National Ice Centre, Nottingham Attendance: 7,250

Game reference
	Ben Bowns	Goalies	Joe Fallon	Referees: Stefan Hogarth Dean Smith Linesmen: Paul Staniforth James Kavanagh
	0–1 12:29 – Kevin Hart 0–2 18:13 – Brett Switzer Joey Haddad – 26:57 1–2 Mark Louis – 43:40 2–2 Joey Martin – 51:27 3–2 Andrew Hotham (ENG) – 59:50 4–2
	2 min	Penalties	2 min
	37	Shots	26

---

8 April 2017 17:00

Sheffield Steelers

2–0 (1–0, 0–0, 1–0)

Belfast Giants

National Ice Centre, Nottingham Attendance: 7,250

Game reference
	Ervīns Muštukovs	Goalies	Stephen Murphy	Referees: Toby Craig Tom Pering Linesmen: Lee Young Allan Ward
	Guillaume Desbiens – 4:15 1–0 Levi Nelson (PPG, ENG) – 59:35 2–0
	2 min	Penalties	6 min
	17	Shots	31

Third-place match

9 April 2017 12:00

Dundee Stars

8–15 (4–4, 2–5, 2–6)

Belfast Giants

National Ice Centre, Nottingham Attendance: 7,250

Game reference
	Craig Holland (57:49) Joe Fallon (2:11)	Goalies	Andrew Dickson	Referees: Stefan Hogarth Pavel Halas Linesmen: Danny Beresford Lee Young
	Vinny Scarsella – 5:51 1–0 1–1 7:27 – Blair Riley Mikael Lidhammar – 7:36 2–1 2–2 9:15 – David Rutherford Craig Moore – 11:27 3–2 3–3 12:53 – Ryan Martinelli 3–4 13:57 – Colin Shields Kevin Bruijsten – 17:48 4–4 Matt White – 22:21 5–4 5–5 22:31 – Matt Towe 5–6 23:11 – David Rutherford (2) 5–7 28:26 – David Rutherford (3) 5–8 35:34 – Chris Higgins Joey Sides – 36:50 6–8 6–9 37:08 – Michael Quesnele Justin Faryna – 41:31 7–9 7–10 42:58 – Jim Vandermeer 7–11 50:46 – Michael Forney 7–12 52:27 – Ryan Martinelli (2) 7–13 52:52 – Colin Shields (2) 7–14 55:16 – Michael Forney (2) 7–15 58:47 – Adam Keefe Justin Faryna (2) – 59:46 8–15
	0 min	Penalties	0 min
	38	Shots	43

Grand Final

9 April 2017 16:00

Sheffield Steelers

6–5 (2OT) (1–3, 4–1, 0–1, 0–0, 1–0)

Cardiff Devils

National Ice Centre, Nottingham Attendance: 7,250

Game reference
	Ervīns Muštukovs	Goalies	Ben Bowns	Referees: Toby Craig Dean Smith Linesmen: Allan Ward James Kavanagh
	0–1 2:20 – Guillaume Doucet (PPG) John Armstrong – 3:52 1–1 1–2 16:10 – Joey Haddad 1–3 19:17 – Joey Martin (PPG) Geoff Walker – 24:24 2–3 Colton Fretter – 25:54 3–3 Levi Nelson (PPG) – 28:45 4–3 4–4 32:20 – Layne Ulmer Geoff Walker (2) – 37:23 5–4 5–5 40:54 – Andrew Hotham (PPG) Levi Nelson (2) – 94:08 6–5
	10 min	Penalties	6 min
	61	Shots	44

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