A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 2018–19 EIHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Elite Ice Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration |
|
| Number of matches | 330 |
| Total attendance | 949,539 |
| Average attendance | 2877.4 |
| Regular season | |
| League | Belfast Giants[1] |
| Season MVP | Tyler Beskorowany (Belfast Giants)[2] |
| Top scorer |
|
| Challenge Cup | |
| Winners | Belfast Giants[4] |
| Conference | |
| Erhardt champions | Belfast Giants[5] |
| Erhardt runners-up | Cardiff Devils |
| Gardiner champions | Glasgow Clan[6] |
| Gardiner runners-up | Dundee Stars |
| Patton champions | Guildford Flames[7] |
| Patton runners-up | Coventry Blaze |
| Playoffs | |
| Champions | Cardiff Devils[8] |
| Runners-up | Belfast Giants[8] |
| Finals MVP | Ben Bowns (Cardiff Devils)[9] |
The 2018–19 EIHL season was the 16th season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season commenced on 8 September 2018 and ended on 31 March 2019, with the playoffs following in April 2019. The two-time reigning league champions were the Cardiff Devils, who won both the regular season and playoff titles in 2017–18.[10][11]
The Devils were unable to make it three regular season titles in succession, after a season-long battle for the top position with the Belfast Giants. The league title came down to the final day of the regular season; the Coventry Blaze's 3–1 victory over the Devils at the Coventry Skydome handed the league title to the non-playing Giants,[1] on a regulation wins (by 39 to 38) tie-break. It was the Giants' fourth regular season title, and first since 2013–14. The playoff final resulted in a matchup between the Devils and the Giants in Nottingham; the Devils achieved their second consecutive playoff title with a 2–1 victory on Gleason Fournier's game-winning goal,[8] with 7:33 remaining.
Teams
After having twelve teams for the 2017–18 season, the league reduced to eleven for the 2018–19 season.[12] This was due to the Edinburgh Capitals – who had finished bottom of the league with just five wins[13] – losing the rights to use the Murrayfield Ice Rink to a consortium that was led by David Hand, the brother of former Capital Tony Hand.[14] Hand's consortium revived the Murrayfield Racers name, with a similarly-named franchise having been active between 1952 and 1996, and attempted to join the league in place of the Edinburgh Capitals, but this request was denied.[15] As a result, the Murrayfield Racers joined the Scottish National League. The Hull Pirates, from the National Ice Hockey League, also considered an application to the Elite League, but ultimately did not take up this option.[12]
The league featured three conferences, just as it did in 2017–18. The Gardiner Conference remained fully Scottish but became a three-team division,[16] with the demise of the Edinburgh Capitals; the Dundee Stars, the Fife Flyers and the renamed Glasgow Clan (formerly Braehead) making up the trio. The two other conferences remained unchanged, with four teams in each. These were the Patton Conference, consisting of the Coventry Blaze, the Guildford Flames, the Manchester Storm and the Milton Keynes Lightning; and the Erhardt Conference, consisting of the four "Arena" teams: the Belfast Giants, the Cardiff Devils, the Nottingham Panthers and the Sheffield Steelers.
| Team | City/Town | Conference | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast Giants | Belfast | Erhardt | SSE Arena Belfast | 7,200 |
| Cardiff Devils |  Cardiff |
Erhardt | Ice Arena Wales | 3,088 |
| Coventry Blaze |  Coventry |
Patton | Coventry Skydome | 3,000 |
| Dundee Stars |  Dundee |
Gardiner | Dundee Ice Arena | 2,400 |
| Fife Flyers | Kirkcaldy |
Gardiner | Fife Ice Arena | 3,525 |
| Glasgow Clan | Glasgow |
Gardiner | Braehead Arena | 4,000 |
| Guildford Flames | Guildford |
Patton | Guildford Spectrum | 2,001 |
| Manchester Storm | Altrincham |
Patton | Altrincham Ice Dome | 2,000 |
| Milton Keynes Lightning | Milton Keynes |
Patton | Planet Ice Arena Milton Keynes | 2,800 |
| Nottingham Panthers | Nottingham |
Erhardt | National Ice Centre | 7,500 |
| Sheffield Steelers | Sheffield |
Erhardt | Sheffield Arena | 8,500 |
Standings
Overall
Each team played 60 games, playing each of the other ten teams six times: three times on home ice, and three times away from home.[16] 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 shootout. One point was awarded for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the league champion.
The league title came down to the final day of the regular season; the Coventry Blaze's 3–1 victory over the Cardiff Devils at the Coventry Skydome handed the league title to the non-playing Belfast Giants,[1] on a regulation wins tie-break. It was the Giants' fourth regular season title, and first since 2013–14.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belfast Giants (C) | 60 | 39 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 238 | 147 | +91 | 92 | Regular season champions Qualification to playoffs |
| 2 | Cardiff Devils (Q) | 60 | 38 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 235 | 146 | +89 | 92 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 3 | Nottingham Panthers (Q) | 60 | 23 | 6 | 12 | 19 | 183 | 181 | +2 | 70 | |
| 4 | Glasgow Clan (Q) | 60 | 28 | 3 | 5 | 24 | 202 | 186 | +16 | 67 | |
| 5 | Guildford Flames (Q) | 60 | 22 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 189 | 180 | +9 | 67 | |
| 6 | Fife Flyers (Q) | 60 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 24 | 188 | 204 | −16 | 66 | |
| 7 | Sheffield Steelers (Q) | 60 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 26 | 183 | 203 | −20 | 64 | |
| 8 | Coventry Blaze (Q) | 60 | 19 | 8 | 8 | 25 | 209 | 221 | −12 | 62 | |
| 9 | Manchester Storm (E) | 60 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 179 | 208 | −29 | 59 | |
| 10 | Dundee Stars (E) | 60 | 16 | 7 | 12 | 25 | 169 | 201 | −32 | 58 | |
| 11 | Milton Keynes Lightning (E) | 60 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 41 | 148 | 246 | −98 | 34 |
Rules for classification: 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.
(C) Champion; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated
Erhardt Conference
Only intra-conference games counted towards the Erhardt Conference standings. Each team played the other three teams in the Conference six times, for a total of 18 matches. The Belfast Giants won the Conference for the third time, after the Cardiff Devils lost 5–4 against the Sheffield Steelers at Sheffield Arena on 16 March 2019.[5]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belfast Giants (C) | 18 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 68 | 50 | +18 | 25 | Conference champions |
| 2 | Cardiff Devils | 18 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 65 | 51 | +14 | 22 | |
| 3 | Sheffield Steelers | 18 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 51 | 68 | −17 | 17 | |
| 4 | Nottingham Panthers | 18 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 48 | 63 | −15 | 17 |
Rules for classification: 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.
(C) Champion
Gardiner Conference
Only intra-conference games count towards the Gardiner Conference standings. Each team plays the other two teams in the Conference six times, for a total of 12 matches. The Glasgow Clan won the Conference for the fifth time, after a 5–1 win over the Dundee Stars at Braehead Arena on 12 February 2019.[6]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glasgow Clan (C) | 12 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 44 | 27 | +17 | 19 | Conference champions |
| 2 | Dundee Stars | 12 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 12 | |
| 3 | Fife Flyers | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 28 | 37 | −9 | 9 |
Rules for classification: 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.
(C) Champion
Patton Conference
Only intra-conference games counted towards the Patton Conference standings. Each team played the other three teams in the Conference six times, for a total of 18 matches. The Guildford Flames won the Conference for the first time, after a 1–0 win over the Manchester Storm at the Guildford Spectrum on 17 February 2019.[7]