Tonight: 6 teams in 3 games
Photo: Mark Ferris
It's an unusually quiet night this Saturday in the Elite Ice Hockey League with just three games taking place this evening.
1900 Coventry Blaze vs. Fife Flyers
Following a Friday night trip to Glasgow, Coventry return to home ice to face more Scottish opposition in Fife at the Skydome.
That overtime loss point the Blaze picked up yesterday keeps them inside the top five and with Nottingham not playing they have a further chance to cut the six-point gap to the Panthers. Since goalie CJ Motte arrived, the Blaze have only lost one game by more than a goal.
Fife's performances last weekend were noticeably better despite them only picking up one point in a shootout loss to Glasgow. A run of just two wins in their last 10 has seen the Flyers fall out of the playoff places altogether and is something that they'll need to put a stop to quickly to avoid falling further adrift.
"Everyone knows that we weren't great in Glasgow, and it definitely stings when you give up a lead late, but we've proved we can bounce back several times this season and I'm confident we can do it again." - Danny Stewart (Head Coach, Coventry Blaze)
"It's a pressure sport and everyone has to deal with that, but I was pleased with how well the players competed last weekend. With the game as technical as it is now we've been making some adjustments to our own systems and talking about being more responsible with the puck to avoid breakdowns on the offensive blueline." - Todd Dutiaume (Head Coach, Coventry Blaze)
1900 Dundee Stars vs. Guildford Flames
Six days since beating Guildford 6-2 in their own rink, Dundee return home looking to follow up a string of recent good performances.
The Stars' double-header south of the border saw them pick up three points which has brought them back to within a win of the playoff places - some turnaround for the team that went into Christmas nine points behind.
Guildford headed into the festive period with the possibility of breaking into the top three. However, one win in six games since means the Flames have dropped to sixth although they do still have a few games in hand on the teams around them.
"The guys are feeling good because we are on the right track now and we all know every game is very important. Our goal is to get the four points this weekend but it’s not going to be an easy game against here against Guildford; they will probably come out strong, so we have to be ready for that." - Egils Kalns (Forward, Dundee Stars)
"I wasn't happy with our performance in Sheffield, but I thought at home to Dundee we competed and controlled large parts of the game. That said we didn't win and now it's up to us to make sure we're ready to play when we arrive there. We say it every week, but there really are no easy games." - Paul Dixon (Head Coach, Guildford Flames)
1900 Manchester Storm vs. Cardiff Devils
Exactly a week after the Storm beat the Devils in Manchester these teams prepare to do battle again.
Manchester moved back into the playoff places thanks to that 4-1 win against Cardiff and if they can pick up more home points it will help keep the Storm there for tonight at least.
Belfast's win over Sheffield on Friday night means the Devils can cut the deficit behind the Steelers back to three points with three games in hand if they win tonight. The Devils got their first win of this new year last Sunday but will be concerned about the number of goals they're giving up of late - 13 in the last three games.
"We've had a good four to five weeks overall but now we will need to take ourselves up another gear. There are some very tough games ahead, starting tonight in Manchester who have been playing well of late. I wasn't so happy with our performance there last week, but we've had a full week of practice now to work on a few things." - Andrew Lord (Head Coach, Cardiff Devils)
