# 2022–23 EIHL season

The 2022–23 EIHL season was the 19th season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season commenced on 10 September 2022, and finished on 2 April 2023; the playoffs were then contested over 7 to 16 April 2023.
The Belfast Giants became the first team since the Nottingham Panthers in 2012–13, and third overall, to win a Grand Slam of titles – winning the league, playoff and Challenge Cup titles. Either side of their 9–3 Challenge Cup final victory over the Fife Flyers, the Giants won 25 of their last 30 league games to overhaul long-time league leaders, the Guildford Flames, to win the regular season title for a record sixth time – taking the title with a 6–1 home victory over the Flames. After seeing off the Glasgow Clan and the Panthers in the first two playoff rounds, the Giants met the Cardiff Devils for the third consecutive final, with the Devils having won the previous two meetings. Having fallen behind to Mark Richardson's first-period goal, the Giants then scored four goals without reply to take their first playoff title since 2009–10 to complete the Grand Slam.

## Teams

The same ten teams that competed in 2021–22 competed in the 2022–23 season.
| Team | City/Town | Arena | Capacity |
| Belfast Giants | Belfast | SSE Arena Belfast | 8,700 |
| 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 | Motorpoint Arena Nottingham | 7,500 |
| Sheffield Steelers | Sheffield | Utilita Arena Sheffield | 9,300 |

## Regular season
### League standings

Each team played 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 were 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 was crowned the league champion, and qualified for the 2023–24 Champions Hockey League. The top eight teams qualified for the playoffs.
The Belfast Giants won a record third consecutive Elite Ice Hockey League regular season title (and sixth overall), with a 6–1 home victory over their closest rivals, the Guildford Flames on 1 April 2023.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Belfast Giants (C) | 54 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 231 | 120 | +111 | 84 | Regular season champions Qualification to playoffs |
| 2 | Guildford Flames | 54 | 31 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 209 | 159 | +50 | 82 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 3 | Sheffield Steelers | 54 | 32 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 190 | 129 | +61 | 77 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 4 | Cardiff Devils | 54 | 29 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 192 | 142 | +50 | 75 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 5 | Coventry Blaze | 54 | 25 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 200 | 161 | +39 | 72 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 6 | Manchester Storm | 54 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 163 | 203 | −40 | 48 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 7 | Nottingham Panthers | 54 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 149 | 191 | −42 | 47 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 8 | Glasgow Clan | 54 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 34 | 134 | 203 | −69 | 35 | Qualification to playoffs |
| 9 | Fife Flyers | 54 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 34 | 118 | 193 | −75 | 34 | |
| 10 | Dundee Stars | 54 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 36 | 142 | 227 | −85 | 31 | |
* 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.

### Results

| Home \ Away | BEL | CAR | COV | DUN | FIF | GLA | GUI | MAN | NOT | SHE | BEL | CAR | COV | DUN | FIF | GLA | GUI | MAN | NOT | SHE | BEL | CAR | COV | DUN | FIF | GLA | GUI | MAN | NOT | SHE |
| Belfast | — | 9–3 | 7–0 | 3–2 (SO) | 8–0 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 5–2 | 5–3 | — | 3–1 | 6–1 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 6–3 | 2–1 | 4–5 | 3–4 (SO) | 1–0 (SO) | — | 4–5 (OT) | 1–3 | 5–2 | 9–4 | 8–0 | 6–1 | 9–1 | 6–1 | 8–2 |
| Cardiff | 2–4 | — | 1–2 (OT) | 6–4 | 7–4 | 6–3 | 4–2 | 8–1 | 5–1 | 2–5 | 4–2 | — | 4–1 | 5–3 | 7–1 | 5–1 | 2–5 | 4–1 | 6–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | — | 3–4 (OT) | 5–4 (SO) | 4–0 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 4–5 (OT) | 4–0 |
| Coventry | 4–5 | 2–3 (OT) | — | 7–2 | 3–2 | 4–3 (OT) | 4–5 | 5–4 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–5 | 6–0 | — | 4–0 | 1–0 (SO) | 3–0 | 3–4 (OT) | 9–0 | 6–3 | 5–4 (SO) | 2–4 | 4–2 | — | 3–5 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 7–4 | 4–3 (SO) |
| Dundee | 1–7 | 5–3 | 1–5 | — | 4–2 | 6–3 | 0–5 | 4–5 (OT) | 4–2 | 1–7 | 2–3 (OT) | 4–5 | 4–3 (SO) | — | 3–2 | 1–4 | 2–5 | 3–1 | 4–5 (OT) | 0–5 | 9–2 | 1–4 | 3–6 | — | 1–4 | 1–3 | 4–6 | 3–5 | 1–2 | 2–5 |
| Fife | 2–3 | 3–4 (OT) | 5–3 | 2–4 | — | 2–3 | 3–5 | 1–5 | 6–1 | 1–5 | 2–7 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 4–1 | — | 4–5 (SO) | 1–2 (OT) | 5–4 (SO) | 1–4 | 2–3 | 2–5 | 3–4 (OT) | 3–2 (OT) | 4–0 | — | 1–5 | 2–6 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 (SO) |
| Glasgow | 1–4 | 0–5 | 4–5 (SO) | 6–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–4 | 3–0 | 2–3 (SO) | 0–3 | 3–4 (OT) | 3–2 (OT) | 4–1 | 2–3 (OT) | 3–1 | — | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–7 | 0–4 | 3–4 | 3–5 | 5–2 | 4–2 | — | 1–5 | 2–6 | 5–8 | 3–6 |
| Guildford | 4–3 | 5–4 (OT) | 4–3 | 6–3 | 5–3 | 2–1 | — | 4–3 (OT) | 4–3 (OT) | 1–4 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–4 (SO) | 4–2 | 4–2 | 5–3 | — | 5–6 | 5–4 | 3–4 | 1–6 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 7–3 | 5–0 | 5–4 | — | 6–4 | 3–4 (SO) | 1–4 |
| Manchester | 2–5 | 0–3 | 4–5 (OT) | 5–2 | 5–6 | 6–3 | 3–6 | — | 7–1 | 4–5 | 0–3 | 1–2 (SO) | 1–5 | 5–4 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 8–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–6 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 3–4 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 6–2 | 2–9 | — | 1–4 | 3–1 |
| Nottingham | 5–4 | 5–2 | 1–6 | 6–2 | 1–3 | 6–2 | 4–3 (OT) | 1–3 | — | 1–5 | 3–5 | 5–2 | 6–4 | 4–2 | 1–6 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 1–5 | — | 3–4 (OT) | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 (SO) | 3–4 (OT) | — | 1–4 |
| Sheffield | 2–1 | 1–3 | 5–4 (SO) | 1–2 | 6–0 | 6–2 | 3–4 (OT) | 7–1 | 3–2 (SO) | — | 2–3 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 9–4 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 3–2 | — | 0–4 | 3–2 | 3–5 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 5–4 | 4–5 (OT) | 3–1 | 4–1 | — |

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season. 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 |
| Scott Conway | Belfast Giants | 51 | 40 | 50 | 90 | +53 | 56 |
| Daniel Tedesco | Guildford Flames | 53 | 31 | 49 | 80 | +25 | 16 |
| David Goodwin | Belfast Giants | 53 | 15 | 55 | 70 | +53 | 8 |
| Brett Ferguson | Guildford Flames | 53 | 22 | 45 | 67 | +32 | 90 |
| Trevor Cox | Cardiff Devils | 53 | 16 | 50 | 66 | +33 | 14 |
| Cole Sanford | Cardiff Devils | 52 | 38 | 27 | 65 | +34 | 38 |
| Ryan Tait | Guildford Flames | 54 | 28 | 34 | 62 | +19 | 6 |
| Philippe Sanche | Dundee Stars | 49 | 24 | 36 | 60 | −10 | 39 |
| Marcus Crawford | Cardiff Devils | 54 | 9 | 48 | 57 | +47 | 87 |
| Joey Martin | Cardiff Devils | 53 | 22 | 34 | 56 | +23 | 27 |

#### Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.
| Player | Team(s) | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Taran Kozun | Cardiff Devils | 25 | 1368:01 | 16 | 6 | 50 | 3 | 92.80% | 2.19 |
| Matt Greenfield | Sheffield Steelers | 53 | 3176:49 | 36 | 17 | 117 | 7 | 92.01% | 2.21 |
| Jackson Whistle | Belfast Giants | 26 | 1424:07 | 17 | 7 | 53 | 3 | 91.76% | 2.23 |
| Taz Burman | Guildford Flames | 22 | 1322:52 | 19 | 3 | 59 | 3 | 90.48% | 2.68 |
| Paavo Hölsä | Coventry Blaze | 47 | 2824:15 | 28 | 18 | 128 | 6 | 90.72% | 2.72 |

## Playoffs
### Bracket

In the two-legged quarter-finals, the highest-ranked team met the lowest-ranked team, the second-highest-ranked team met the second-lowest-ranked team and so forth. The winners of each tie was determined by aggregate scoring over the two games. In the semi-finals, the highest remaining seed was matched against the lowest remaining seed, with the other two teams facing off. The winners of the semi-finals progressed to the Final, with the losers playing in the third-place match.
| Quarter-finals (7–9 April) | Quarter-finals (7–9 April) | Quarter-finals (7–9 April) | Quarter-finals (7–9 April) | Quarter-finals (7–9 April) | | | Semi-finals (15 April) | Semi-finals (15 April) | Semi-finals (15 April) | Final (16 April) | Final (16 April) | Final (16 April) |
| 1 | Belfast Giants | 4 | 3 | 7 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Glasgow Clan | 2 | 4 | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Glasgow Clan | 2 | 4 | 6 | | | 1 | Belfast Giants | 6 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 7 | Nottingham Panthers | 3 | | | |
| 2 | Guildford Flames | 1 | 5 | 6 | | | 7 | Nottingham Panthers | 3 | | | |
| 7 | Nottingham Panthers | 4 | 3 | 7 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Nottingham Panthers | 4 | 3 | 7 | | | | | | 1 | Belfast Giants | 4 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 1 | Belfast Giants | 4 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 4 | Cardiff Devils | 1 |
| 3 | Sheffield Steelers | 2 | 5 | 7 | | | | | | | | | 4 | Cardiff Devils | 1 |
| 6 | Manchester Storm | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | |
| 6 | Manchester Storm | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | 3 | Sheffield Steelers | 2 | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| | | | | | | | 4 | Cardiff Devils | 3 |
| 4 | Cardiff Devils | 5 | 1 | 6 | | | 4 | Cardiff Devils | 3 | 3 | Sheffield Steelers | 7 |
| 5 | Coventry Blaze | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | 7 | Nottingham Panthers | 4 |

### Quarter-finals

The quarter-final schedule was announced after the conclusion of the final-day regular season matches.

#### (1) Belfast Giants vs. (8) Glasgow Clan

* Belfast Giants win 7–6 on aggregate.

#### (2) Guildford Flames vs. (7) Nottingham Panthers

* Nottingham Panthers win 7–6 on aggregate.

#### (3) Sheffield Steelers vs. (6) Manchester Storm

* Sheffield Steelers win 7–4 on aggregate.

#### (4) Cardiff Devils vs. (5) Coventry Blaze

* Cardiff Devils win 6–3 on aggregate.

### Semi-finals

The schedule for the Playoff Finals weekend was announced after the conclusion of the quarter-final matches.

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the playoffs. 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 |
| Steven Owre | Belfast Giants | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | +7 | 2 |
| Scott Allen | Sheffield Steelers | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephen Anderson | Nottingham Panthers | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | +3 | 0 |
| Scott Conway | Belfast Giants | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | +7 | 6 |
| Danny Kristo | Sheffield Steelers | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | –1 | 2 |
| David Goodwin | Belfast Giants | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +9 | 0 |
| Mike Hammond | Nottingham Panthers | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +3 | 0 |
| Cole Sanford | Cardiff Devils | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | +2 | 2 |
| Ryan Tait | Guildford Flames | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | +1 | 0 |
| Brett Neumann | Sheffield Steelers | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 |

#### Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the playoffs.
| Player | Team(s) | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Miklós Rajna | Coventry Blaze | 1 | 55:51 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 100.00% | 0.00 |
| Ben Bowns | Cardiff Devils | 4 | 239:31 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 94.41% | 2.00 |
| Matt Greenfield | Sheffield Steelers | 3 | 182:07 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 91.76% | 2.31 |
| Tyler Beskorowany | Belfast Giants | 4 | 240:00 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 90.83% | 2.50 |
| Taz Burman | Guildford Flames | 1 | 60:00 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 86.96% | 3.00 |