2012–13 EIHL season


The 2012–13 Elite Ice Hockey League season was the tenth season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season began on Saturday 8 September 2012 and ended on Sunday 24 March 2013, followed by the Play-Offs which culminated in the end-of-season Play-Off Finals on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 April 2013.
This season saw the introduction of a new two conference format, in which the ten participating teams were split into two conferences of five teams. The Gardiner Conference, named after former Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Charlie Gardiner, comprised the five northernmost mainland teams and the Erhardt Conference, named after the captain of the British 1936 Winter Olympics gold medal winning team Carl Erhardt, comprised the four southernmost mainland teams and one team from Northern Ireland. The most prestigious honour remained the overall League Championship, awarded to the team with the most points gained from all league games. The season also included the end-of-season Play-Offs and the Challenge Cup.
Nottingham Panthers proved to be the dominant team of the season, clinching the Elite League Championship – their first British League Championship title for 57 years – when they defeated their nearest challengers Belfast Giants 5–3 at the Odyssey Arena on Friday 15 March 2013. However, the Giants would prevent the Panthers achieving a regular season double of League and Conference titles by shading a very close Erhardt Conference title race on regulation time wins after both teams finished level on points. The Gardiner Conference proved even more exciting with all five teams never being more than a few wins apart, at one stage towards the end of the season only one point separating first and last place. Braehead Clan eventually ran out Conference Champions in a very successful first season for the new two-conference format.
The Challenge Cup was won for the fourth successive season by Nottingham Panthers, clinching their second honour of the season by defeating Sheffield Steelers 5–3 on aggregate in the two-legged final. The Panthers then overcame a big scare at the hands of Fife Flyers in the Play-Off Quarter-Finals to defeat Cardiff Devils in the Semi-Finals and then Belfast Giants 3–2 in overtime in the Final. This third successive Play-Offs victory also gave them the treble of League Championship, Play-Offs and Challenge Cup, the first time the treble has been won since Coventry Blaze's success in 2004–05.

Team Information

Belfast GiantsErhardt BelfastOdyssey Arena8,300
Braehead ClanGardiner GlasgowBraehead Arena3,750
Cardiff DevilsErhardt CardiffCardiff Arena2,500
Coventry BlazeErhardt CoventrySkyDome Arena3,000
Dundee StarsGardiner DundeeDundee Ice Arena2,400
Edinburgh CapitalsGardiner EdinburghMurrayfield Ice Rink3,800
Fife FlyersGardiner KirkcaldyFife Ice Arena2,414
Hull StingraysGardiner HullHull Arena3,150
Nottingham PanthersErhardt NottinghamNational Ice Centre6,900
Sheffield SteelersErhardt SheffieldMotorpoint Arena8,500

Regular season

The League Championship was played for over 52 games, each team playing teams in their own conference eight times and teams in the other conference four times.
The Conference Championships were played for over 32 games, each team playing teams in their own conference eight times.
Teams were awarded two points for a win, one point for a tie and no points for a loss. Teams level on points were separated by total number of games won in regulation time, total number of all games won, results between teams or fewest losses.
The top eight teams in the League Championship qualified for the Play-Offs.

Results

Grid Colours: Blue = league & conference games; Pink = league games.
Result Colours: Black = regulation time result; Green = overtime result; Red = shoot-out result.

League Standings

1Nottingham Panthers5242918523211135–1–69–0–19–1–0W2
2Belfast Giants52371057919113233–1–310–2–38–2–0W3
3Sheffield Steelers52351437318413328–5–214–0–35–4–1L1
4Coventry Blaze52242265415618118–3–322–4–25–5–0L3
5Cardiff Devils52212385016016816–4–123–2–61–8–1L1
6Edinburgh Capitals52222644814918418–1–326–3–16–4–0W2
7Fife Flyers52232724815417617–2–427–1–15–5–0W3
8Braehead Clan52202664616320016–0–426–6–03–5–2L1
9Dundee Stars52192764413819414–3–227–2–43–7–0L3
10Hull Stingrays52172694313718515–2–026–2–75–5–0W1

Conference Standings

Gardiner Conference
1Braehead Clan32171233710910214–0–312–3–04–5–1L1
2Fife Flyers3217132361089513–2–213–1–15–5–0W3
3Dundee Stars32171413510211112–3–214–0–13–7–0L3
4Hull Stingrays3214117359711112–2–011–1–66–3–1L1
5Edinburgh Capitals32151433310910613–0–214–2–16–3–1W2

Erhardt Conference
1Belfast Giants322165471168918–0–36–2–38–2–0W3
2Nottingham Panthers322381471198117–0–68–0–18–2–0W2
3Sheffield Steelers3218122381048914–2–212–0–26–4–0L1
4Coventry Blaze32918523871347–2–018–4–13–6–1L2
5Cardiff Devils32918523831166–3–018–1–40–9–1L1

Team Records

Play-Offs

The Quarter-Finals were played over two legs, home and away. The Semi-Finals and Final were played over a single leg at a neutral venue, the National Ice Centre, in the 'Play-Off Finals Weekend'.
The Play-Off seeds were Nottingham Panthers, Belfast Giants, Braehead Clan, Sheffield Steelers, Coventry Blaze, Cardiff Devils, Edinburgh Capitals and Fife Flyers.

Quarter-Finals

Nottingham PanthersFife Flyers
Belfast GiantsEdinburgh Capitals
Braehead ClanCardiff Devils
Sheffield SteelersCoventry Blaze

Semi-Finals

Nottingham PanthersCardiff DevilsNational Ice Centre6–3
Belfast GiantsCoventry BlazeNational Ice Centre5–1

3rd Place Play-Off
Coventry BlazeCardiff DevilsNational Ice Centre11–5

Final

Nottingham PanthersBelfast GiantsNational Ice Centre3–2

Challenge Cup

The First Round comprised two groups of five teams, each team playing teams in their own group twice, totalling eight games.
In the First Round group games, teams were awarded two points for a win, one point for a tie and no points for a loss. Teams level on points were separated by total number of games won in regulation time, total number of all games won, results between teams or fewest losses.
The top four teams from each First Round group qualified for the Quarter-Finals. The Quarter-Final ties were decided by final group positions. The Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final were all played over two legs, home and away.
Due to scheduling constraints, some League Championship games doubled up as Challenge Cup games.

First round

Group A

Belfast Giants
Braehead Clan
Dundee Stars
Edinburgh Capitals
Fife Flyers

Result Colours: Black = regulation time result; Green = overtime result; Red = shoot-out result.
1Belfast Giants87101433127–0–01–0–04–0–0W7
2Braehead Clan8431925244–0–03–1–03–1–0W3
3Fife Flyers8440821184–0–04–0–00–4–0L4
4Dundee Stars8440818234–0–04–0–02–2–0L1
5Edinburgh Capitals8170216360–1–07–0–00–4–0L6

Group B

Cardiff Devils
Coventry Blaze
Hull Stingrays
Nottingham Panthers
Sheffield Steelers

Result Colours: Black = regulation time result; Green = overtime result; Red = shoot-out result.
1Sheffield Steelers86111335244–1–11–0–12–1–1W1
2Nottingham Panthers85121230225–0–01–2–02–1–1W2
3Coventry Blaze8440822263–0–14–0–00–4–0L4
4Hull Stingrays8341727363–0–04–0–12–2–0W2
5Cardiff Devils8251529350–1–15–0–11–3–0W1

Quarter-Finals

Belfast GiantsHull Stingrays
Sheffield SteelersDundee Stars
Braehead ClanCoventry Blaze
Nottingham PanthersFife Flyers

Semi-Finals

Belfast GiantsNottingham Panthers
Sheffield SteelersBraehead Clan

Final

Sheffield SteelersNottingham Panthers

Player statistics

Regular season

Play-Offs

Season Awards

Individual awards

AWARDWINNERTEAM
Player of the Year David LingNottingham Panthers
Coach of the Year Corey NeilsonNottingham Panthers
Fans Player of the Year David LingNottingham Panthers
British Player of the Year David ClarkeNottingham Panthers
Netminder of the Year Craig KowalskiNottingham Panthers
Defenceman of the Year Mike SchutteCoventry Blaze
Forward of the Year David LingNottingham Panthers
Top Goalscorer Jereme TendlerHull Stingrays
Top Points Scorer David LingNottingham Panthers

All-Star Teams