Giants and Steelers host Saturday's cup fixtures

Photo: William Cherry

The other half of Saturday night's fixtures see four teams in Premier Sports Challenge Cup action with two teams battling to make sure they make it through to the Quarter-Finals.

1900 Belfast Giants vs. Fife Flyers (Tickets | Webcast)
Fife make their second trip of the season over to Belfast hoping to continue their recent good progress after a difficult start to the season.

The Flyers held league leaders Sheffield for two periods last weekend before a major penalty cost them the game in the final period. That ended a run of two straight wins, but now in cup action Todd Duituame's side are fighting to avoid being the ninth team overall that misses out on the Quarter-finals.

Belfast are already assured of their place in the next round and will be seeded as winners of Group A. The Giants were in action last night in Nottingham and dominated the Panthers, blanking them 5-0 on their own ice with an impressive road performance.

1900 Sheffield Steelers vs. Manchester Storm (Tickets | Webcast)
It's a quick turnaround for the Steelers and Storm who face off at the Utilita Arena less than 24 hours after meeting in Manchester.

Friday's game at the Storm Shelter ended with the Steelers scoring four third-period goals to collect a 7-4 win, leaving the Storm still without a point in the cup.

That result means that Manchester are in danger of being the team that misses out on the Quarter-Finals unless they can pick up points in their remaining three games. How many they'll need also depends on Coventry and Fife.

Sheffield meanwhile are back on top of Group C and could go four points clear xf Nottingham with another victory tonight. The Steelers will have, however, played two more games than their old rivals.