Tonight: 8 teams go in search of league points

Steelers host Devils in headline clash

After Friday night's win for Nottingham in Glasgow, the other eight teams go searching for league wins tonight.

1800 Guildford Flames vs. Coventry Blaze

Coventry head to Guildford for the third time in competitive games this season looking for their first win against the Flames. The Blaze got a two-goal win in pre-season but have since suffered two and three-goal defeats in Challenge Cup action.

Guildford were again beaten by Fife on their own ice last weekend after a hard-earned win away to Glasgow, but it does mean they have lose their last two home games. The Flames remain in the last playoff place and are two points behind a cluster of teams but do have several games in hand. A win will put them level on points with Coventry.

Coventry suffered two losses last weekend and conceded 15 goals in the process. After a promising start, the Blaze have only picked up two wins in their last ten games across all competitions.

“We have lost a couple on the bounce on home ice so in that regard this game takes on a little more importance.  We played well at home last weekend despite a loss so if we can replicate that we will give ourselves a chance at success, and that is what we will hope to achieve on Saturday.” – Paul Dixon (Head Coach, Guildford Flames)

“We have to clean some things up this weekend. Guildford are a team who will exploit mistakes and that’s something we have been focussing on this week. We will need to stay out of the box as well as their powerplay is extremely dangerous. But, if we play to our potential, we are too, so we’re looking forward to a good game.” – Dillon Eichstadt (Defenseman, Coventry Blaze)

1900 Manchester Storm vs. Dundee Stars

Manchester host an in-form Dundee side in a battle of the two teams outside of the playoff places in the Elite League.

The Storm’s win in Fife kept them in touch with the rest of the table, and they had into this weekend only three points away from getting into the top eight. A narrow home loss to the Panthers followed but despite scoring four goals Manchester are still the lowest scorers in the league.

Dundee are now unbeaten in their last five games and in the league have won four in a row – including a pair of away wins. Those results have brought the Stats back to within a point of getting into the playoff places.

Interestingly, Dundee have a Top 3 powerplay going up against the Storm who have the league’s best penalty kill.

"We have been playing some pretty good hockey, as of late, and I know our group are ready to go for this big weekend. I think this is a real opportunity for the team to build some momentum and start climbing the standings. There are less than three wins between us and 5th place, and everybody involved with the club is very aware of that." - Ryan Finnerty (Head Coach, Manchester Storm)

“This is a huge game for us on Saturday and we have to go in there and just treat it like every other game. “It is a tighter rink, we have to play with a lot of close support and play physical but we also have to be ready to take some hits to make some plays and the bounces are a bit different on that ice so we just have to play tight, play smart and work through whatever happens.” – Reilly O'Connor (Defenseman, Dundee Stars)

1900 Sheffield Steelers vs. Cardiff Devils

With three wins in a row league leaders Sheffield Steelers host fourth-placed Cardiff Devils looking to build on the momentum at the FlyDSA Arena.

Sheffield have scored 18 goals in those three wins and continue to be the league’s highest goals scorers on average per game. Conversely only two teams have let in more goals this season, but the shutout against Belfast midweek will have no doubt been a big boost for the Steelers’ defensive units.

Cardiff need a bounce-back after two home defeats to Belfast last weekend. The Devils could still however end this weekend in second with wins in both games and other results going their way, but losses would increase the risk of them falling out of the top four.

“We've had two very tight games against Cardiff but come out on the wrong end of them. We've been on a roll lately and playing Cardiff won't be easy, but will be a good benchmark for us.” – Aaron Fox (Head Coach, Sheffield Steelers)

“This is a huge game for us. We’re coming off a very disappointing weekend with two defeats at home to Belfast. Playing in Sheffield is never easy and the Steelers seem to have really found their groove and are coming off a massive win against the Giants midweek. We know we’ve got to be at our absolute best to take anything from this game but we’ve had a good week of practice, looked at where things went wrong last weekend and I’ve got faith in my guys.” - Andrew Lord (Head Coach, Cardiff Devils)

1915 Fife Flyers vs. Belfast Giants

A mixed set of results last weekend saw Fife end with three points from their two games, but perhaps in the opposite order to what they would have expected.

A defeat at home to Manchester was followed by a road win in Guildford – and that point earned against the Storm means the Flyers stay in the top eight by the skin of their teeth.

Belfast had an excellent weekend with wins in Cardiff, but Wednesday night’s televised 5-0 defeat in Sheffield was not pleasant viewing for Giants fans. That result means that the Giants have won only two of their last six away games – and both of those wins were against the Devils. The Giants remain third and only four points off the top of the table, but at the same time are by no means clear of the chasing pack either.

“We're going into a very tough weekend in Scotland, and will need to find our scoring touch again. We had an excellent weekend in Cardiff and need to get back to the good parts of our game from those performances.” - Adam Keefe (Head Coach, Belfast Giants)