Today: Boxing Day fixtures!

Photo: John Uwins

Everyone at the Elite League hopes that you’ve had very Merry Christmas! It’s back to the on-ice action today however with the traditional Boxing Day games. There’s a slightly different feel about this season’s fixtures with a few changes to previous clashes – but the tightness of the league dictates that any game now has a lot riding on it.

1600 Guildford Flames vs. Cardiff Devils

Fourth plays Second at the Spectrum tonight, and this series between the Devils and Flames could well have an impact on both teams’ seasons over then next few days.

Guildford dropped a place after a big loss in Coventry on Sunday but the Flames, who also have a few games in hand on the teams above them, are on the cusp of being potential title challengers; four games over the Christmas period will go a long way to determining if they can stay in the pack, or fall behind.

Cardiff remain just two points off top spot and with four games in hand they are the team currently best-placed to make a charge at the league title. A narrow pre-Christmas win over Manchester extended the Devils’ recent record to one less in nine. They have, however, not had a great time of things against Guildford this season.

“The one thing that this team has done is respond when we’ve asked them to. There’s no bigger test than Cardiff, but we know we have to be ready. We move on from the defeat in Coventry which was one of those nights.” – Paul Dixon (Head Coach, Guildford Flames)

“We have a big stretch of games coming up, and Guildford are a team that have got the better of us a few times already this year. We know that they have a lot of quality players and use their speed very well. If we want to win a championship though then these are the games you relish as a player.” – Andrew Lord (Head Coach, Cardiff Devils)

1600 Nottingham Panthers vs. Coventry Blaze

Three points separate Midlands rivals Nottingham and Coventry ahead of their series this week.

The Panthers had a good weekend with two wins over Dundee last time out, and a good four-game spell here could bring them back into the title race. With more games played than the teams around them however, a bad run is likely to leave them in a mid-table battle.

Coventry’s weekend saw them take three out of four points against in-form Guildford. Those results helped pull the Blaze to six points above falling out of the playoff altogether and now has the team looking up rather than down. They do however face a tough Christmas schedule with four games against two teams in the top four.

“We’re back to work today, the players had a few days off to get mentally and physically rested but now I’m looking forward to what should be a good game.” – Tim Wallace (Head Coach, Nottingham Panthers) 

"Staying healthy and energised is key during this stretch. We’ll go into this game on the back of a few days off but when you’ve played as well as we have in the last two weeks, we definitely went into the break more confident. Hopefully we can pick this back up now.“ – Danny Stewart (Head Coach, Coventry Blaze)

1600 Sheffield Steelers vs. Manchester Storm

League leaders Sheffield meet Pennine rivals Manchester for the third time in a matter of weeks in what could be a feisty affair at the FlyDSA Arena.

Sheffield stayed two points clear at the top with back to back wins over Glasgow and are now on a four-game unbeaten streak themselves. Still averaging over four goals a game in the league, the Steelers have scored substantially more goals than anyone else in the EIHL.

Manchester have the opposite problem. The Storm average the lowest amount of goals of any team in the league at just 2.65 a game. Special teams may well be key in this clash – both sides have powerplays in the top four of the league, but the Storm do boast the best penalty kill overall.

“It was a huge weekend for us before Christmas which gave us all a very positive feeling going into a few days off. However, it’s back to it now. We know in this league if you don’t show up, you’ll get beaten by any team and Manchester are one we know all to well have the quality to get the better of us.” – Aaron Fox (Head Coach, Sheffield Steelers)

“It’s so tight and this is the first time in a while where the league is beating each other. I think in this second half a few teams might stretch away, but under that really seven or eight teams should be battling out for position. It’s a great place for the league to be, and we believe we can win against anyone on any given night.” – Ryan Finnerty (Head Coach, Manchester Storm)

1700 Dundee Stars vs. Fife Flyers

It’s not just a Scottish derby this Boxing Day in Dundee. In terms of the overall playoff race, this game has more than local bragging rights at stake.

Basement side Dundee had an improved set of performances against Nottingham before Christmas but now need to start picking up some serious points if they’re to claw themselves back into the playoff race. Nine points adrift, Dundee need to find five more wins than Fife over the next 27 games to make the post-season.

The Flyers’ OT win in Manchester gave the team and fans a lift, but slipping to a home defeat against Belfast means they’re only three points ahead of Manchester and falling out of the playoffs.

“If we play like we did against Nottingham then we will give ourselves chances to win hockey games. The guys have had a little bit of rest over the holidays but now they will realise the playoff push starts now – not in a month or so, we’re in a hole and have to start getting ourselves out of it. If we can just find that little touch around the net then I’m confident we can turn things around.” – Omar Pacha (Head Coach, Dundee Stars)

“These derby games are always special, and none more so than during the holiday season. We’ve managed to win both of our games in Dundee so far this season so know what it takes to win there. It’s up to us to execute that again.” – Todd Dutiaume (Head Coach, Fife Flyers)