2021–22 EIHL season

2021–22 EIHL season
2021–22 EIHL season
League	Elite Ice Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	25 September 2021 – 17 April 2022; (regular season); 23 April – 1 May 2022; (playoffs);
Number of teams	10
Regular season
Regular season winners	Belfast Giants
Playoffs
Finals
Champions	Cardiff Devils
Runners-up	Belfast Giants
EIHL seasons
	← 2019–20 2022–23 →

The 2021–22 EIHL season was the 18th season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season commenced on 25 September 2021, and finished on 17 April 2022, with the playoffs taking place over the following two weekends. The previous campaign in 2020–21 was suspended indefinitely in September 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom; a reduced Elite Series was held in April and May 2021, involving the Sheffield Steelers, the Nottingham Panthers, the Coventry Blaze and the Manchester Storm, to provide competitive ice time for players ahead of the 2021 IIHF World Championship.

The Belfast Giants won the regular season title for a record-equalling fifth time with two games to spare, following their 2–1 overtime win at their closest challengers, the Sheffield Steelers, on 10 April 2022. Having also won the Challenge Cup, the Belfast Giants as national league and cup champions had an opportunity to seal a Grand Slam in the playoff final by becoming British national champions for the third time, however they lost 6–3 to the Cardiff Devils – who thereby won their third consecutive playoff title and national championship, denying the table-topping Giants the Grand Slam for the second consecutive season.

Teams

The same ten teams that competed in the last regular season in 2019–20 are competing in the 2021–22 season.

Team	City/Town	Arena	Capacity
Belfast Giants	Belfast	SSE Arena Belfast	8,700
Cardiff Devils	Cardiff	Ice Arena Wales	3,088
Coventry Blaze	Coventry	Coventry Skydome	3,000
Dundee Stars	Dundee	Dundee Ice Arena	2,400
Fife Flyers	Kirkcaldy	Fife Ice Arena	3,525
Glasgow Clan	Glasgow	Braehead Arena	4,000
Guildford Flames	Guildford	Guildford Spectrum	2,001
Manchester Storm	Altrincham	Altrincham Ice Dome	2,351
Nottingham Panthers	Nottingham	Motorpoint Arena Nottingham	7,500
Sheffield Steelers	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. 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 2022–23 Champions Hockey League. The top eight teams qualified for the playoffs.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Belfast Giants (C)	54	37	6	2	9	224	108	+116	88	Regular season champions Qualification to playoffs
2	Sheffield Steelers	54	31	6	7	10	202	138	+64	81	Qualification to playoffs
3	Cardiff Devils	54	30	5	4	15	188	131	+57	74
4	Nottingham Panthers	54	22	3	5	24	163	191	−28	55
5	Guildford Flames	54	19	6	4	25	165	169	−4	54
6	Glasgow Clan	54	21	2	7	24	150	182	−32	53
7	Dundee Stars	54	19	6	3	26	160	185	−25	53
8	Coventry Blaze	54	19	4	5	26	154	173	−19	51
9	Manchester Storm	54	14	4	4	32	150	210	−60	40
10	Fife Flyers	54	12	4	5	33	122	191	−69	37

Source: Elite League
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.
(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	—	1–0	6–1	2–3	3–1	3–2	6–2	7–2	7–2	5–1	—	5–3	3–0	7–1	4–1	5–1	5–1	6–2	2–4	2–5	—	1–2 (SO)	7–6	4–1	7–1	5–1	5–0	6–3	4–1	5–4 (OT)
Cardiff	3–2	—	3–4	1–2	5–1	4–2	2–0	3–0	0–3	3–5	4–2	—	6–2	7–1	3–2	3–1	6–2	5–3	5–1	5–4 (OT)	4–1	—	3–0	4–1	4–0	4–2	1–2 (OT)	7–1	5–2	2–6
Coventry	3–5	0–2	—	5–1	2–0	2–5	4–3 (SO)	8–3	0–1	1–2 (SO)	1–7	3–4 (SO)	—	7–2	6–2	8–1	1–5	3–2 (SO)	5–0	1–5	2–3	3–0	—	3–4 (OT)	2–1	2–0	1–5	1–2 (SO)	4–6	1–2
Dundee	1–4	4–6	3–0	—	3–6	5–2	7–0	3–2	4–1	1–2	4–3 (OT)	3–2	2–1	—	2–4	3–5	3–4 (SO)	4–1	5–4 (OT)	3–2	0–7	5–3	4–1	—	6–0	6–3	0–5	3–4 (SO)	8–3	2–1 (OT)
Fife	0–3	3–1	6–2	1–4	—	4–5 (OT)	3–0	8–0	2–4	2–6	2–3 (OT)	2–4	2–3	4–3	—	3–2 (OT)	1–4	1–5	2–4	5–3	2–3 (SO)	2–1 (SO)	3–2 (OT)	1–5	—	3–4	4–2	4–5 (OT)	3–4 (OT)	2–5
Glasgow	0–6	2–5	2–3 (SO)	5–2	4–1	—	4–3	3–1	1–4	3–6	3–1	2–3	4–6	4–3	5–2	—	1–2 (OT)	4–3	2–5	5–3	1–7	6–3	2–4	1–2 (OT)	7–2	—	3–0	7–4	3–4 (OT)	2–0
Guildford	1–3	2–1	3–4 (OT)	3–0	6–1	4–2	—	3–0	3–4	3–6	1–4	2–6	1–2	7–1	1–5	8–2	—	6–5 (OT)	1–3	0–1 (OT)	3–4	6–5 (OT)	4–3	7–3	4–2	1–3	—	4–2	5–4 (OT)	1–3
Manchester	3–0	2–3 (OT)	5–2	6–2	5–0	1–5	2–6	—	4–0	2–7	1–6	5–6	1–4	4–3	0–3	4–2	4–3	—	4–2	0–3	5–6 (OT)	1–4	4–1	3–6	4–1	6–1	1–2	—	7–4	4–3 (SO)
Nottingham	0–5	5–2	2–5	2–1	2–4	2–3	4–3	5–3	—	1–4	2–7	4–1	4–10	4–3 (OT)	4–2	1–2	5–2	4–2	—	3–7	2–3 (SO)	3–7	9–1	5–2	1–2 (OT)	1–2 (OT)	3–5	5–2	—	3–0
Sheffield	7–1	5–4 (OT)	3–4	3–1	5–2	3–2 (OT)	4–6	5–2	5–3	—	1–3	0–5	3–1	5–4	6–0	3–2 (OT)	4–3 (OT)	2–1	4–2	—	1–2 (SO)	2–3 (SO)	5–3	4–5 (SO)	3–1	3–2	6–5	8–2	6–2	—

Source: Elite League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:

^ A medical emergency within the Altrincham Ice Dome resulted in this match being ended with 11:54 remaining.

Statistics

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
J. J. Piccinich	Belfast Giants	52	35	45	80	+48	22
Scott Conway	Belfast Giants	53	33	45	78	+37	56
Charlie Combs	Dundee Stars	52	30	35	65	+4	44
Mark Cooper	Belfast Giants	53	28	33	61	+27	25
Sebastian Bengtsson	Dundee Stars	51	28	32	60	+8	6
Adam Brady	Manchester Storm	54	25	35	60	−28	24
Mathieu Roy	Glasgow Clan	53	33	26	59	+8	46
Brodie Reid	Cardiff Devils	52	31	28	59	+7	10
Marc-Olivier Vallerand	Sheffield Steelers	45	26	33	59	+24	44
David Goodwin	Belfast Giants	48	18	40	58	+33	14

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.

Player	Team	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Tyler Beskorowany	Belfast Giants	41	2384:47	32	9	67	6	93.17%	1.69
Mac Carruth	Cardiff Devils	41	2355:05	24	16	84	5	93.67%	2.14
Rok Stojanovič	Sheffield Steelers	35	2107:06	24	11	79	2	92.53%	2.25
Kevin Lindskoug	Guildford Flames	49	2910:39	23	26	140	3	90.95%	2.89
C. J. Motte	Coventry Blaze	51	2950:29	21	29	147	4	91.12%	2.99

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 (23–24 April)					Semi-finals (30 April)			Final (1 May)

1	Belfast Giants	2	2	4

8	Coventry Blaze	2	1	3
					1	Belfast Giants	6

					7	Dundee Stars	0
2	Sheffield Steelers	0	3	3

7	Dundee Stars	1	4	5
								1	Belfast Giants	3
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
								3	Cardiff Devils	6
3	Cardiff Devils	3	2	5

6	Glasgow Clan	4	0	4
					3	Cardiff Devils	3	Third place

					5	Guildford Flames	2
4	Nottingham Panthers	4	2	6				5	Guildford Flames	7

5	Guildford Flames	4	3	7				7	Dundee Stars	5

Quarter-finals

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

(1) Belfast Giants vs. (8) Coventry Blaze

23 April 2022	Coventry Blaze		2–2	Belfast Giants	Coventry Skydome	Recap
No scoring		First period		5:50 – Darcy Murphy (1)
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
Janne Kivilahti (1) – 11:50 Nat Halbert (1) – 18:11		Third period		15:04 – Slater Doggett (1)
C. J. Motte (25 shots / 23 saves)		Goalie stats		Tyler Beskorowany (33 shots / 31 saves)

24 April 2022	Belfast Giants		2–1	SO	Coventry Blaze	SSE Arena Belfast	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Tyler Soy (1) – 5:52		Second period			7:55 – Conner Chaulk (1)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Ben Lake J. J. Piccinich Slater Doggett Scott Conway David Goodwin Scott Conway David Goodwin Scott Conway Ben Lake J. J. Piccinich		Shootout			Janne Kivilahti Luke Ferrara Evan Bloodoff Ross Venus Johnny Curran Janne Kivilahti Luke Ferrara Janne Kivilahti Johnny Curran Janne Kivilahti
Tyler Beskorowany (25 shots / 24 saves)		Goalie stats			C. J. Motte (39 shots / 38 saves)

Belfast Giants win 4–3 on aggregate.

(2) Sheffield Steelers vs. (7) Dundee Stars

23 April 2022	Sheffield Steelers		0–1	Dundee Stars	Sheffield Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
No scoring		Third period		17:21 – Sebastian Bengtsson (1)
Barry Brust (23 shots / 22 saves)		Goalie stats		Adam Morrison (32 shots / 32 saves)

24 April 2022	Dundee Stars		4–3	Sheffield Steelers	Dundee Ice Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period		9:59 – Marc-Olivier Vallerand (1; PPG) 14:22 – Marc-Olivier Vallerand (2)
Kalvis Ozols (1; PPG) – 17:51		Second period		0:59 – Martin Látal (1)
Sebastian Bengtsson (2) – 12:26 Sebastian Bengtsson (3; PPG) – 18:55 Dillon Lawrence (1; ENG) – 19:39		Third period		No scoring
Adam Morrison (19 shots / 16 saves)		Goalie stats		Rok Stojanovič (17 shots / 14 saves)

Dundee Stars win 5–3 on aggregate.

(3) Cardiff Devils vs. (6) Glasgow Clan

23 April 2022	Cardiff Devils		3–4	Glasgow Clan	Ice Arena Wales	Recap
Matthew Register (1; PPG) – 8:53		First period		18:29 – Colin Campbell (1)
Trevor Cox (1) – 14:25		Second period		8:31 – Guillaume Gauthier (1) 10:26 – Nolan LaPorte (1)
Cole Sanford (1) – 17:45		Third period		6:49 – Nolan LaPorte (2)
Mac Carruth (26 shots / 22 saves)		Goalie stats		Shane Starrett (39 shots / 36 saves)

24 April 2022	Glasgow Clan		0–2	Cardiff Devils	Braehead Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
No scoring		Third period		7:41 – Jake Coughler (1; PPG) 17:35 – Trevor Cox (2)
Shane Starrett (25 shots / 23 saves)		Goalie stats		Mac Carruth (26 shots / 26 saves)

Cardiff Devils win 5–4 on aggregate.

(4) Nottingham Panthers vs. (5) Guildford Flames

23 April 2022	Guildford Flames		4–4	Nottingham Panthers	Guildford Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period		6:24 – Sean Richards (1)
Turner Ripplinger (1) – 5:04 Mike Crocock (1) – 10:48		Second period		5:40 – Sean Richards (2) 13:07 – Christophe Boivin (1; PPG)
Ian McNulty (1; PPG) – 5:07 Owen Griffiths (1) – 18:16		Third period		13:29 – Matthew Myers (1)
Kevin Lindskoug (36 shots / 32 saves)		Goalie stats		Kevin Carr (34 shots / 30 saves)

24 April 2022	Nottingham Panthers		2–3	Guildford Flames	Motorpoint Arena Nottingham	Recap
Christophe Boivin (2) – 5:01		First period		7:58 – Levi Cable (1)
Jeremy Welsh (1) – 8:20		Second period		No scoring
No scoring		Third period		15:31 – Turner Ripplinger (2) 17:11 – Levi Cable (2)
Kevin Carr (25 shots / 22 saves)		Goalie stats		Kevin Lindskoug (37 shots / 35 saves)

Guildford Flames win 7–6 on aggregate.

Semi-finals

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

30 April 2022
15:00

Belfast Giants

6–0
(1–0, 3–0, 2–0)

Dundee Stars

Motorpoint Arena Nottingham

Game reference

Tyler Beskorowany

Goalies

Adam Morrison

Referees:
Matt Rose
Dean Smith
Linesmen:
Nathan Carmichael
Ilia Kisil

Mark Cooper (1) – 14:22	1–0
Mark Cooper (2) – 21:03	2–0
Mark Cooper (3) – 28:47	3–0
Jordan Boucher (1) – 37:33	4–0
Lewis Hook (1; PPG) – 50:08	5–0
David Goodwin (1; PPG) – 58:02	6–0

4 min

Penalties

8 min

19

Shots

24

30 April 2022
19:00

Cardiff Devils

3–2
(1–0, 1–0, 1–2)

Guildford Flames

Motorpoint Arena Nottingham

Game reference

Mac Carruth

Goalies

Kevin Lindskoug

Referees:
Matt Thompson
Stefan Hogarth
Linesmen:
Lee Young
Scott Rodger

Jake Coughler (2) – 12:45	1–0
Cole Sanford (2) – 39:30	2–0
	2–1	41:43 – Turner Ripplinger (3)
	2–2	55:28 – Turner Ripplinger (4)
Justin Crandall (1; PPG) – 57:42	3–2

6 min

Penalties

4 min

20

Shots

32

Third-place match

1 May 2022
13:00

Guildford Flames

7–5
(2–1, 2–1, 3–3)

Dundee Stars

Motorpoint Arena Nottingham

Game reference

Kevin Lindskoug

Goalies

Brython Preece

Referees:
Matt Rose
Stefan Hogarth
Linesmen:
Nathan Carmichael
Scott Rodger

Jordan Cownie (1) – 6:10	1–0
	1–1	8:42 – Philippe Sanche (1)
Kyle Locke (1) – 10:30	2–1
	2–2	21:44 – Sebastian Bengtsson (4)
Jordan Cownie (2) – 32:49	3–2
Ian McNulty (1) – 33:11	4–2
	4–3	42:58 – Charlie Combs (1)
	4–4	48:35 – Connor Sills (1)
	4–5	53:40 – Michael Poirier (1)
Levi Cable (3) – 54:41	5–5
Brett Ferguson (1; PPG) – 58:07	6–5
Owen Griffiths (2; ENG) – 59:15	7–5

2 min

Penalties

4 min

29

Shots

33

Final

1 May 2022
17:00

Belfast Giants

3–6
(1–2, 1–1, 1–3)

Cardiff Devils

Motorpoint Arena Nottingham

Game reference

Tyler Beskorowany

Goalies

Mac Carruth

Referees:
Liam Sewell
Andy Dalton
Linesmen:
Danny Beresford
Ryan Fraley

	0–1	1:44 – Cole Sanford (3)
	0–2	6:01 – Jake Coughler (3; PPG)
Scott Conway (1; PPG) – 8:32	1–2
Ben Lake (1; PPG) – 25:57	2–2
	2–3	39:39 – Stephen Dixon (1)
	2–4	42:13 – Brodie Reid (1; PPG)
Tyler Soy (2) – 49:03	3–4
	3–5	58:09 – Trevor Cox (3; ENG)
	3–6	59:19 – Josh Lammon (1; ENG)

31 min

Penalties

33 min

37

Shots

23

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Fisher, Luke (5 August 2021). "Fixtures for 2021/22 revealed!". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
^ "Season extended by one week to allow for complete schedule". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
^ "EIHL Board Suspend 2020–21 Season". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
^ "2021 Elite Series confirmed for April–May!". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
^ Parry, Haydn (10 April 2022). "Elite League: Belfast Giants win title with two games to spare". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
^ McKendry, Adam (1 May 2022). "Belfast Giants miss out on historic Grand Slam as Cardiff Devils claim Play-Off title". Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
^ "Devils defeat Giants in playoff final". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
^ "Storm vs. Steelers ended in perod three". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022. The result of 2–7 will stand.
^ "Statistics 2021/22: Players". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
^ "Statistics 2021/22: Goalies". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
^ "Playoff Quarter-Finals confirmed". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
^ "All set for Playoff Finals Weekend!". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.

External links

Official website

[table_note_1_MAN_SHE0.49518562969527-9] A medical emergency within the Altrincham Ice Dome resulted in this match being ended with 11:54 remaining.

[2021-22_structure-1] Fisher, Luke (5 August 2021). "Fixtures for 2021/22 revealed!". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 26 October 2021.

[2] "Season extended by one week to allow for complete schedule". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.

[3] "EIHL Board Suspend 2020–21 Season". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2021.

[4] "2021 Elite Series confirmed for April–May!". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.

[5] Parry, Haydn (10 April 2022). "Elite League: Belfast Giants win title with two games to spare". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 10 April 2022.

[6] McKendry, Adam (1 May 2022). "Belfast Giants miss out on historic Grand Slam as Cardiff Devils claim Play-Off title". Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 1 May 2022.

[7] "Devils defeat Giants in playoff final". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.

[8] "Storm vs. Steelers ended in perod three". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2022. The result of 2–7 will stand.

[10] "Statistics 2021/22: Players". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 18 April 2022.

[11] "Statistics 2021/22: Goalies". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 18 April 2022.

[12] "Playoff Quarter-Finals confirmed". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.

[13] "All set for Playoff Finals Weekend!". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.

v t e British Ice Hockey seasons
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Ice Hockey Superleague (1996–2003)	1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03
Elite Ice Hockey League (2003–present)	2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2021–22 2022-23 2023–24

2021–22 EIHL season

Teams

Regular season

League standings

Results

Statistics

Scoring leaders

Leading goaltenders

Playoffs

Bracket

Quarter-finals

(1) Belfast Giants vs. (8) Coventry Blaze

(2) Sheffield Steelers vs. (7) Dundee Stars

(3) Cardiff Devils vs. (6) Glasgow Clan

(4) Nottingham Panthers vs. (5) Guildford Flames

Semi-finals

Third-place match

Final

References

External links

Wikious

Boobota

Sagapedia