The 2019–20 EIHL season was the 17th season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season commenced on 7 September 2019 and was due to end on 29 March 2020, with the playoffs following in April 2020. The reigning league champions were the Belfast Giants, who won the title on the final day of the regular season, in 2018–19.[1]
| 2019–20 EIHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Elite Ice Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration |
|
| Regular season | |
| League | No winner |
| Conference | |
| Playoffs | |
On 13 March 2020, two weekends before the regular season was due to end, league officials cancelled all remaining matches due to be held; this was as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[2][3]
Teams
edit
After having eleven teams for the 2018–19 season, the league reduced to ten for the 2019–20 season. This was due to the Milton Keynes Lightning – who had finished bottom of the league – returning to the National Ice Hockey League.[4] For the first time since 2011–12, the league did not feature Conference splits.
| Team | City/Town | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast Giants | Belfast | SSE Arena Belfast | 7,200 |
| Cardiff Devils |  Cardiff |
Ice Arena Wales | 3,088 |
| Coventry Blaze |  Coventry |
Coventry Skydome | 3,000 |
| Dundee Stars |  Dundee |
Dundee Ice Arena | 2,400 |
| Fife Flyers | Kirkcaldy |
Fife Ice Arena | 3,525 |
| Glasgow Clan | Glasgow |
Braehead Arena | 4,000 |
| Guildford Flames | Guildford |
Guildford Spectrum | 2,001 |
| Manchester Storm | Altrincham |
Altrincham Ice Dome | 2,351 |
| Nottingham Panthers | Nottingham |
National Ice Centre | 7,500 |
| Sheffield Steelers | Sheffield |
FlyDSA Arena | 8,500 |
League standings at time of cancellation
editEach team was scheduled to play 54 games, playing each of the other nine teams six times: three times on home ice, and three times away from home. Points were awarded for each game, where two points are awarded for all victories, regardless of whether it was in regulation time or after overtime or game-winning shots. One point was awarded for losing in overtime or game-winning shots, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points would normally be crowned the league champion.
However, after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the season, it was agreed the season would finish without a league winner; Sheffield Steelers won the Challenge Cup; league leaders Cardiff Devils qualified for the 2020–21 Champions Hockey League.[5]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff Devils (Q) | 46 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 162 | 138 | +24 | 64 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 2 | Sheffield Steelers (Q) | 49 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 211 | 154 | +57 | 63 | |
| 3 | Coventry Blaze (Q) | 48 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 180 | 158 | +22 | 61 | |
| 4 | Belfast Giants (Q) | 48 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 149 | 125 | +24 | 60 | |
| 5 | Nottingham Panthers (Q) | 46 | 21 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 147 | 124 | +23 | 58 | |
| 6 | Guildford Flames (Q) | 47 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 19 | 146 | 146 | 0 | 53 | |
| 7 | Glasgow Clan | 48 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 26 | 141 | 181 | −40 | 41 | |
| 8 | Manchester Storm | 49 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 119 | 151 | −32 | 41 | |
| 9 | Dundee Stars | 48 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 27 | 146 | 179 | −33 | 39 | |
| 10 | Fife Flyers | 49 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 124 | 169 | −45 | 34 |
Rules for classification:
- In-season: 1) Points; 2) Fewest games played; end of season criteria as below.
- End of season: 1) Points; 2) Games won in regulation time; 3) Number of games won; 4) Head-to-head results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 5) Fewest regulation losses; 6) Away game results, ranked by criteria 1 to 3; 7) Goals scored; 8) Goal difference; 9) Fewest penalty minutes; 10) Drawing of lots.
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated
Statistics
editScoring leaders
editThe following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of matches played on 8 March 2020.[6] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Herr | Nottingham Panthers | 46 | 30 | 29 | 59 | +16 | 42 |
| Joey Haddad | Cardiff Devils | 46 | 29 | 28 | 57 | +11 | 30 |
| Brendan Connolly | Sheffield Steelers | 48 | 26 | 29 | 55 | +16 | 86 |
| Luke Ferrara | Coventry Blaze | 47 | 33 | 21 | 54 | +4 | 18 |
| Charles Corcoran | Coventry Blaze | 48 | 17 | 35 | 52 | –11 | 16 |
| Marc-Olivier Vallerand | Sheffield Steelers | 40 | 26 | 25 | 51 | +12 | 47 |
| Andrew Johnston | Coventry Blaze | 48 | 21 | 29 | 50 | +9 | 54 |
| Janne Laakkonen | Coventry Blaze | 43 | 9 | 40 | 49 | +8 | 16 |
| Anthony DeLuca | Sheffield Steelers | 42 | 26 | 21 | 47 | +19 | 61 |
| Gleason Fournier | Cardiff Devils | 46 | 13 | 34 | 47 | +3 | 18 |
Leading goaltenders
editThe following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, at the conclusion of matches played on 8 March 2020, providing they had played 1080 minutes.[7]
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Owen | Belfast Giants | 43 | 2445:10 | 24 | 17 | 97 | 2 | 91.65% | 2.38 |
| Kevin Carr | Nottingham Panthers | 37 | 2233:25 | 22 | 15 | 90 | 4 | 91.78% | 2.42 |
| C. J. Motte | Coventry Blaze | 24 | 1465:20 | 15 | 9 | 61 | 3 | 92.68% | 2.50 |
| Matt Ginn | Manchester Storm | 49 | 2914:18 | 18 | 30 | 137 | 3 | 92.11% | 2.82 |
| Ben Bowns | Cardiff Devils | 46 | 2763:31 | 31 | 15 | 130 | 2 | 90.50% | 2.82 |
References
edit- ^ "Elite League: Cardiff Devils lose at Coventry Blaze to miss out on title". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ "EIHL cancels all matches for rest of season". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ "Coronavirus: Elite League ice hockey cancelled for the rest of 2019-20". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ Gordon, James (16 March 2019). "MK Lightning to drop out of Elite League". British Ice Hockey. JDG Media Ltd. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ "No League Champions in 2019/20 - Devils to enter CHL". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ "Statistics: Players". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ "Statistics: Goalies". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 9 March 2020.