The 2016–17 Elite Ice Hockey League season was the 14th season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season begun in early September and ended in March. Regular season champion Cardiff Devils were defeated in the playoff final by their Erhardt Conference rivals Sheffield Steelers 6–5 in double-overtime.
From the 2016–17 season, the number of non British-trained players rose from 13 to 14, while the number of work-permit players remained at 11, according to a rule change first introduced in 2014.
Teams
Erhardt Conference Belfast Giants Belfast SSE Arena Belfast 7,200 Cardiff Devils Cardiff Ice Arena Wales 3,088 Coventry Blaze Coventry SkyDome Arena 3,000 Nottingham Panthers Nottingham National Ice Centre 7,500 Sheffield Steelers Sheffield Motorpoint Arena 8,500
Gardiner Conference Braehead Clan Glasgow Braehead Arena 4,000 Dundee Stars Dundee Dundee Ice Arena 2,400 Edinburgh Capitals Edinburgh Murrayfield Ice Rink 3,700 Fife Flyers Kirkcaldy Fife Ice Arena 3,525 Manchester Storm Altrincham Altrincham Ice Dome 2,000
Standings
Overall All games counted towards the overall Elite League standings. Each team played 52 matches; 32 matches against their four Conference rivals, and 20 against the five teams from the other Conference. The Cardiff Devils became regular season champions for the first time in twenty years, with a 6–2 win over the Sheffield Steelers on 18 March 2017 at Ice Arena Wales.
Erhardt Conference Only intra-conference games counted towards the Erhardt Conference standings. Each team played the other four teams in the Conference eight times, for a total of 32 matches. The Cardiff Devils won the Conference for the second successive season, with a 4–3 win over the Belfast Giants on 25 March 2017 at Ice Arena Wales.
Gardiner Conference Only intra-conference games counted towards the Gardiner Conference standings. Each team played the other four teams in the Conference eight times, for a total of 32 matches. The Braehead Clan won the Conference for the third successive season, with a 4–1 win over the Dundee Stars on 25 February 2017 at the Braehead Arena.
Playoffs
Bracket
Quarter-finals
(E1) Cardiff Devils vs. (RS8) Manchester Storm
(G1) Braehead Clan vs. (RS7) Dundee Stars
(RS3) Sheffield Steelers vs. (RS4) Nottingham Panthers
(RS2) Belfast Giants vs. (RS6) Fife Flyers
Semi-finals
Third-place match
Grand Final
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup was won by the Cardiff Devils, who came from behind to beat the Sheffield Steelers 3-2.
The win meant Cardiff had won the Challenge Cup twice in the previous three years, with their other victory coming in 2014-15, also against the Steelers.
Statistics
Scoring leaders The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season.
Player Team Braehead Clan 52 27 48 75 28 Braehead Clan 52 32 42 74 26 Dundee Stars 52 18 54 72 4 Braehead Clan 52 24 45 69 57 Sheffield Steelers 52 28 29 57 28 Belfast Giants 52 28 28 56 77 Belfast Giants 49 20 35 55 107 Fife Flyers 50 17 38 55 44 Fife Flyers 41 31 23 54 32 Dundee Stars 47 23 31 54 10
Leading goaltenders The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, playing at least 2100 minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.
Player Team Cardiff Devils 46 2616:43 33 7 103 3 .912 2.36 Sheffield Steelers 51 3053:14 34 14 130 1 .913 2.55 Belfast Giants 39 2284:16 25 10 97 3 .905 2.55 Manchester Storm 52 3108:38 18 26 150 3 .910 2.90 Nottingham Panthers 41 2294:47 23 12 115 2 .901 3.01
References