➡️ THE MONDAY REVIEW: Dramatic to the end
A Giant night as Belfast are crowned champions
🏆 GIANTS TAKE THE PRIZE AMID STEELERS HEARTACHE
Ice hockey, bloody hell!
As title crescendos go, this has to be up there with the most dramatic of all. There had to be a winner and it was Belfast Giants who were eventually crowned champions after quite the 54-game campaign.
The fact that it was Chase Gresock of Coventry Blaze, who won it for them was the twist we certainly weren’t expecting as his goal with just over three minutes to play over the Steelers saw the trophy make its way back to Northern Ireland.
Once the joy and the despair settles down, we can say that this has been one of the most dramatic and entertaining title races for quite some time.
The weekend began with three teams in with a shout. By late Saturday night, that had been whittled down to two as Nottingham Panthers’ loss in Belfast finished their hopes.
Then it was the last two league winners - and last two Grand Slam winners in the past two seasons - going head to head on the final night
Like Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed in the final round at the end of the original Rocky, these two slugged it out against their respective opponents for one last round..
Fans of both sides - and all teams - kept a watchful eye to see just how this was going to pan out.
While Giants were locked at 3-3 in Nottingham against the Panthers in the second part of their double header, Steelers and Blaze were also tied by the same score.
It would still have been advantage Belfast, having gone into the game a point ahead, but Sheffield were the ones to blink.
Gresock’s goal sealed a terrific home win for Coventry and in doing so, ripped the heart out of Sheffield’s title bid and instantly made himself a hero to the team in teal and all their fans.
When the game was over at the Skydome, Belfast were still playing out their game and had an impromptu celebration until having to finish the game, which they did courtesy of Mike Lee’s overtime winner.
It’s two trophies back under lock and key in Belfast after winning the Challenge Cup and now they’ll be lasered on making it another treble in Nottingham again in a couple of weeks. Right now, they can bask in the glow of this latest success and deservedly so.
As for Sheffield Steelers, it wasn’t to be in the end, but it was another strong showing across the season under Aaron Fox and while they came up short, there is plenty to take from the campaign.
That’s no consolation for them, but their next task is to lift themselves to face Glasgow Clan over two legs if they are to keep hold of the play-off trophy they won to complete the treble last year. It’s going to be a tough week for them and while they’ll receive plenty of commiserations, it’s all about that last shot at glory.
So congratulations to Belfast Giants for getting the job done in the end. League tables don’t lie and it’s another piece of silverware in the growing list of accolades for their coach, Adam Keefe. Nice one.
At the other end of the table, that last play-off spot was there to be taken by Dundee Stars after Manchester Storm somehow managed to slip up in what was an emotionally charged night at Fife Flyers.
On seeing this, Stars’ objective was simply to win the game. Nothing fancy. Nothing complicated. Just win the game.
You sensed the Flyers had given their all to squeeze out one final victory in a season to forget for the Kirkcaldy side. To do it twice in a row really would have been quite the plot twist.
It did seem almost inevitable once Stars got on the score sheet, thanks to Philippe Sanche, that their route to the last eight was assured. Hopefully there was a case of beer left in the Flyers locker room as a huge thanks for helping them get there.
And now, with the regular season in the books, let the post season begin! Once we get our breath back, of course.
🌅 FIFE’S NEW DAWN APPROACHES
As if a rare win wasn’t reason enough to celebrate, Fife Flyers confirmed that an approach to buy the club had been agreed in principle.
Owners Jack Wishart and Tom Muir announced their decision to step down earlier this year after 28 years in charge, leaving a lot of uncertainty of their future and in particular, in what league that future lies.
While it wasn’t actually stated they would stay in the Elite League, it was suggested this would be the case as they start to look towards a new era in Kirkcaldy.
The statement - posted on the Fife Flyers website on Saturday night - said:
“In late January 2025 current owners Tom Muir and Jack Wishart made the difficult decision to retire and step down as owners of Fife Flyers IHC following 28 years at the helm. The duo wished to find new owners/operators who they could pass the baton on to and who would take the team forward in the EIHL.
We are excited to share that an agreement in principle has been reached to secure the future of the Fife Flyers. As paperwork still needs to be completed, we are not in a position to announce the new owners details just yet, but we hope to do this soon. Our current social media, emails and webpage will remain active during this interim period.
This marks the beginning of a new chapter for the club, with fresh leadership, new energy, and a shared vision for building on the proud legacy of the Flyers.
While some final steps remain, all parties are committed to a bright and exciting future for hockey in Fife.”
Let’s hope the news of who the owners are and their plans are made known soon.
🤝 CLAN ANNOUNCE COACH RETURN
Glasgow Clan announced their head coach Corey Neilson, alongside assistant Mike Sirant, would be extending their contracts into a second year.
Neilson joined the club last summer after the sacking of Jason Morgan and has taken the club into the play-offs again.
The former Nottingham Panthers head coach, who also works as assistant to Pete Russell in the GB national team, said in a statement on the Clan website, he was looking forward to building on what’s been achieved this season.
He said: “This year was all about getting things up and running and giving us a foundation to build from and I feel we’ve done that.
“Mike and I have been made to feel very welcome by everyone since I arrived last year, especially by the Purple Army, who are incredibly passionate and can really make a big difference.
“Plans are already underway for next season and while there’s still work to do in what’s left of this year, we’re determined to hit the ground running and go from there.”
📅 PLAY-OFF LINE-UP
1️⃣ BELFAST GIANTS 🆚 8️⃣ DUNDEE STARS
First leg: Saturday 12th April at SSE Arena, Belfast (Face off 7pm - Tickets)
Second leg: Sunday 13th April at Dundee Ice Arena, Dundee (Face off 5pm - Tickets)
2️⃣ SHEFFIELD STEELERS 🆚 7️⃣ GLASGOW CLAN
First leg: Friday 11th April at Braehead Arena, Glasgow (Face off 7:30pm - Tickets)
Second leg: Sunday 13th April at Utilita Arena, Sheffield (Face off 4pm - Tickets)
3️⃣ NOTTINGHAM PANTHERS 🆚 6️⃣ GUILDFORD FLAMES
First leg: Saturday 12th April at the Spectrum, Guildford (Face off 7pm - Tickets)
Second leg: Sunday 13th April at Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham (Face off 5pm - Tickets)
4️⃣ CARDIFF DEVILS 🆚 5️⃣ COVENTRY BLAZE
First leg: Saturday 12th April at Skydome, Coventry (Face off 7pm - Tickets)
Second leg: Sunday 13th April at Vindico Arena, Cardiff (Face off 6pm - Tickets)
🔢 RESULTS
FRIDAY
Cardiff Devils 1 Coventry Blaze 2 OT - 📺 Highlights on Cardiff Devils YouTube
Glasgow Clan 3 Dundee Stars 2 OT - 📺 Highlights on Glasgow Clan YouTube
Manchester Storm 3 Guildford Flames 1 - 📺 Highlights on Manchester Storm YouTube
SATURDAY
Belfast Giants 2 Nottingham Panthers 1 OT - 📺 Highlights on Belfast Giants YouTube
Fife Flyers 5 Manchester Storm 4 OT - 📺 Highlights on Fife Flyers YouTube
Guildford Flames 3 Glasgow Clan 4 - 📺 Highlights on Guildford Flames YouTube
Sheffield Steelers 3 Cardiff Devils 2 SO
SUNDAY
Coventry Blaze 4 Sheffield Steelers 3
Dundee Stars 6 Fife Flyers 1
Nottingham Panthers 3 Belfast Giants 4 - BELFAST GIANTS ARE ELITE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
📊 FINAL STANDINGS
🏟️ AROUND THE RINKS
🙌 On Saturday, Fife Flyers retired the jersey of #11 Todd Dutiaume, who has served the club in all manner of capacities through the years. The Flyers chronicled his highs and lows of nearly three decades in Kirkcaldy - Fife Flyers website
✅ Fife Flyers also managed to achieve a goal milestone on Saturday night as well - EIHL Stattos on X
✈️ Belfast Giants’ winning of the Elite League title means they will return to the Champions Hockey League in 2025/26 - Champions Hockey League on X
📱 FOLLOW US
Thank you for reading today’s edition. Hopefully it’s enough to get you to subscribe and if you have already, thank you.
You can catch us on social media on the following handles:
X - @elitemedia2025
BlueSky - @elitemedia.bsky.social
Also, feel free to send us any feedback or questions you may have and you’ll find us on email elitemedia2025@outlook.com.
Have a great weekend, thank you again for reading and we’ll be back on Wednesday as we turn our attention to the play-offs!