Tonight: All eyes on the league

All 10 EIHL teams are in league action tonight

It's a full schedule of games tonight in the Elite Ice Hockey League, and in each of the five matches it's league points up for grabs.

1600 Nottingham Panthers vs. Belfast Giants

Sunday’s early afternoon game sees Part II of the Panthers’ home double-header against Belfast. 

Nottingham secured their fourth home win in a row in all competitions yesterday with a 4-1 win over Belfast, a result that saw the Giants lose their position as joint-top of the league. After a win each in their two meetings so far this season, the sides are going for a series lead today.

“It’s professional hockey, and you know that any team that’s lost a game will come with extra fire in the next one. We just need to concentre on ourselves however, and make sure that we’re ready to give another team performance.” – Tim Wallace (Head Coach, Nottingham Panthers)

“I’m expecting a big reaction tonight. In last night’s game, we just stood and watched Nottingham for 60 minutes and bar the 6-on-3 goal we were shut out. It wasn’t good enough, and we need to be better.” Adam Keefe – Head Coach (Belfast Giants)

1730 Coventry Blaze vs. Glasgow Clan

Part two of the Blaze’s home double-header sees the visit of league leaders Glasgow on Sunday evening.

The Blaze came from three behind to earn a point against Guildford yesterday, and despite Head Coach Danny Stewart not being happy with the performance his side will no doubt have taken confidence from their fightback.

Glasgow left it late to see off Fife at into Braehead, but four goals in the final period were enough to send them back to the top of the standings. The last time these sides met, Coventry ran out winners in a 14-goal thriller!

“It was a crazy game last time we played them, and although that was fun, it’s not how we’re set up to play, so on Sunday we’ll be looking to get back to our solid defensive game, and take our chances when they come. We want to bounce back from the Belfast defeats and get back to putting points on the board in the Elite League.” Andrew Johnston (Forward, Coventry Blaze)

1730 Fife Flyers vs. Dundee Stars

A second Scottish derby in as many nights for Fife who return to home ice to place local rivals Dundee.

The sides had mixed fortunes yesterday – Fife conceded three goals in four minutes to lose in Glasgow, while Dundee scored three in seven before a late winner saw them past Manchester. These old rivals have only met in Challenge Cup action so far this season, but both were able to win in each other’s rink.

“We found a way to win yesterday, were good in some areas we need to keep progressing and clean up some other parts of our game. Fife are our rival team, last time we went there we got two points and if we can cut down on defensive mistakes it will give us a good chance.” – Omar Pacha (Head Coach, Dundee Stars)

1730 Manchester Storm vs. Sheffield Steelers

Both Manchester and Sheffield are looking for their first points of the weekend when they meet at the Storm Shelter tonight. Both teams lost by a 4-3 scoreline on Saturday night, which had implications for each team in their respective league positions.

Manchester fell to two points adrift at the foot of the table following their late loss in Dundee and would probably feel disappointed to not have earned at least a point after battling back from two goals down. In their favour today is however a 100% record against the Steelers at home.

Sheffield were unable to find any goals in the third period to earn themselves at least a point in Cardiff despite having led twice in the game. That result saw them lose their position as league leaders.

“We’ve been finding ways to lose hockey games right now. I thought we played well against Dundee and to lose late on was heart-breaking. We’ve had success against Sheffield in our rink and need to take the good part of our game from yesterday into tonight.” – Ryan Finnerty (Head Coach, Manchester Storm)

1800 Guildford Flames vs. Cardiff Devils

Cardiff head to Guildford with a point to prove now league points are on the line. The Devils lost back-to-back games against the Flames in the Challenge Cup a few weeks ago, results that saw the Flames win the group.

Cardiff came from behind to beat Sheffield yesterday, shutting the Steelers out in the third period to see out the game and secure two points.

Guildford played their final game of the cup group stage in Coventry last night, and although they gave up a three-goal lead it was still a win after coming through the shootout. The Flames have won eight of their last ten games in all competitions and are looking to go four in a row on their own ice.

“We didn’t have much success against Cardiff earlier in the season but a couple of weekends ago we put together back-to-back wins in low scoring games, so I don’t think there is any doubt they are going to be on our ice ready to go, and we are going to need to match that intensity.  We really need league table points so we have to be prepared for a full out effort for 60 or 60+ minutes if we are going to repeat what we achieved the last time we came together.” – Paul Dixon (Head Coach, Guildford Flames)

“We didn't have much success against Guildford recently, although all of the games this season have been tight. We know that they’re a very fast team, and it will need another 60-minute effort from everyone in our team if we’re to make this a four-point weekend.” - Andrew Lord (Head Coach, Cardiff Devils)