The 2016–17

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

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 The Cardiff Devils are a Welsh ice hockey team who play in the British Elite Ice Hockey League. The team play at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay. Cardiff are the reigning EIHL play-off champions, winning their third title in a row after beatin ...

were defeated in the playoff final by their Erhardt Conference rivals

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...

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 Gardiner Conference

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

became regular season champions for the first time in twenty years, with a 6–2 win over the

on 18 March 2017 at

Ice Arena Wales Ice Arena Wales (IAW) ( cy, Canolfan Iâ Cymru) is an ice hockey rink in the Cardiff International Sports Village in Cardiff, Wales. It opened on 12 March 2016, and has two ice rinks and seating for 3,088 spectators. It is home to the Cardi ...

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

won the Conference for the second successive season, with a 4–3 win over the

Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and are the current cham ...

on 25 March 2017 at

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 Glasgow Clan (formerly ''Braehead Clan'') is a Scottish professional ice hockey team. It was formed in 2010 as the UK Elite Ice Hockey League expanded into the west of Scotland market, and are based at the Braehead Arena in Renfrewshire. It is o ...

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 The Braehead Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The arena was built in 1999, and is located within the Braehead Complex. The arena was formerly the home of the Scottish Eagles ice hockey club and is now the home to the ...

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

, who came from behind to beat the

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.

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on ...

, playing at least 2100 minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 EIHL season Elite Ice Hockey League seasons 1 United