2023–24 EIHL season
The 2023–24 EIHL season was the 20th anniversary season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season commenced on 23 September 2023, and the final match day was on 7 April 2024; the playoff quarter-finals were held over the weekend of 14 April and the Playoff final weekend was held the following weekend.[1]
The Sheffield Steelers won their sixth league title – and first since 2015–16[2] – having opened up an unassailable 14-point lead over the Cardiff Devils with a 7–3 victory over the Guildford Flames on 24 March 2024. The Steelers had also won the Challenge Cup 11 days earlier, beating the Flames 3–1 in the final.[3] The Steelers ultimately completed their first Grand Slam in the EIHL era, defeating the Belfast Giants 3–1 in the playoff final.[4]
The season was marred by the death of Nottingham Panthers forward Adam Johnson during a Challenge Cup match between the Panthers and the Sheffield Steelers,[5] held on 28 October, at the Sheffield Arena.[6] Johnson had suffered a cut to his neck by the blade of a skate,[7] and received emergency treatment on the ice before being transferred to the Northern General Hospital, but died from his injuries.[6] The EIHL postponed all scheduled matches for the following day, 29 October,[8] and subsequent matches on 31 October and 1 November were also postponed.[9][10] Teams returned to action on 4 November, with the exception of Sheffield and Nottingham,[10] who returned to the ice a week and two weeks later.
Regular season
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield Steelers (C) | 54 | 39 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 228 | 113 | +115 | 91 | Regular season champions
Qualification to playoffs |
| 2 | Cardiff Devils | 54 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 210 | 151 | +59 | 77 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 3 | Belfast Giants | 54 | 28 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 182 | 147 | +35 | 71 | |
| 4 | Manchester Storm | 54 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 142 | 154 | −12 | 61 | |
| 5 | Guildford Flames | 54 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 160 | 165 | −5 | 58 | |
| 6 | Coventry Blaze | 54 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 25 | 147 | 185 | −38 | 52 | |
| 7 | Dundee Stars | 54 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 25 | 169 | 198 | −29 | 51 | |
| 8 | Fife Flyers | 54 | 14 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 166 | 202 | −36 | 51 | |
| 9 | Nottingham Panthers | 54 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 165 | 195 | −30 | 50 | |
| 10 | Glasgow Clan | 54 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 24 | 175 | 234 | −59 | 49 |
Playoffs
- Quarterfinals
- Sheffield - Fife 9:4, 4:1
- Cardiff - Dundee 4:2, 3:2
- Belfast - Coventry 2:1, 1:1
- Guildford - Manchester 5:1, 4:0
- Semifinals
- Sheffield - Guildford 5:3
- Belfast - Cardiff 2:1 OT
- 3rd place
- Cardiff - Guildford 7:5
- Final
- Sheffield - Belfast 3:1
Challenge Cup
- Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belfast Giants | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 11 | +16 | 12 | Qualification to knockout stage |
| 2 | Fife Flyers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Glasgow Clan | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 4 | |
| 4 | Dundee Stars | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 26 | −11 | 2 |
- Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff Devils | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 22 | +14 | 12 | Qualification to knockout stage |
| 2 | Guildford Flames | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 31 | −5 | 8 | |
| 3 | Coventry Blaze | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 27 | −9 | 5 |
- Group C
Following the death of Adam Johnson, the Nottingham Panthers withdrew from the Challenge Cup on 8 November 2023. The game between the Sheffield Steelers and Nottingham, which was being led 2–1 by Sheffield at the time of its abandonment, was not considered in the standings or for potential tie-breaking scenarios between Sheffield and the Belfast Giants.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield Steelers | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 8 | +22 | 12 | Qualification to knockout stage |
| 2 | Manchester Storm | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 28 | −12 | 2 | |
| 3 | Nottingham Panthers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 19 | −10 | 2 | Withdrew from the competition |
- Quarterfinals
- Sheffield - Manchester 5:1, 5:1
- Coventry - Belfast 1:1, 5:4 SO
- Glasgow - Cardiff 3:4, 3:1
- Guildford - Fife 3:1, 3:2
- Semifinals
- Sheffield - Coventry 6:0, 4:1
- Guildford - Glasgow 0:0, 6:3
- Final
- Sheffield - Guildford 3:1
References
- ↑ "Gamecentre" (in en). https://www.eliteleague.co.uk/schedule.
- ↑ "Steelers win 2023/24 Elite League title!", Elite Ice Hockey League, Pendulum Management, 24 March 2024. Retrieved on 24 March 2024.
- ↑ Harrison, Phil. "Sheffield Steelers 3 Guildford Flames 1 - Steelers up and running as they secure first piece of silverware in Challenge Cup", The Yorkshire Post, Yorkshire Post Newspapers, 13 March 2024. Retrieved on 24 March 2024.
- ↑ "Steelers complete season Grand Slam with play-off win", BBC Sport, BBC, 21 April 2024. Retrieved on 21 April 2024.
- ↑ "Adam Johnson: Nottingham Panthers forward dies after neck cut in Challenge Cup match", BBC Sport, BBC, 29 October 2023. Retrieved on 29 October 2023.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Adam Johnson: Nottingham Panthers player dies after 'freak accident' in ice hockey match against Sheffield Steelers", Sky Sports, Sky UK, 29 October 2023. Retrieved on 29 October 2023.
- ↑ Morgan, Tom. "Adam Johnson: Nottingham Panthers ice hockey player dies after throat cut by opponent's blade", The Daily Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 29 October 2023. Retrieved on 29 October 2023.
- ↑ "EIHL Statement: Adam Johnson", Elite Ice Hockey League, Pendulum Management, 29 October 2023. Retrieved on 29 October 2023.
- ↑ "Club Statement: Upcoming fixtures", Nottingham Panthers, Nottingham Panthers Limited, 29 October 2023. Retrieved on 29 October 2023.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Adam Johnson: Elite League postpones midweek games after death of Nottingham Panthers forward", BBC Sport, BBC, 31 October 2023. Retrieved on 1 November 2023.
External links
- Season on hockeyarchives.info
| Elite Ice Hockey League seasons |
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