The 2021–22 EIHL season was the 18th season of the
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 ...
. The regular season commenced on 25 September 2021, and finished on 17 April 2022,
with the playoffs taking place over the following two weekends. The previous campaign in 2020–21 was suspended indefinitely in September 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...
; a reduced Elite Series was held in April and May 2021, involving the
Sheffield Steelers, the
Nottingham Panthers, the
Coventry Blaze and the
Manchester Storm, to provide competitive ice time for players ahead of the
2021 IIHF World Championship
The 2021 IIHF World Championship () took place from 21 May to 6 June 2021. It was originally to be co-hosted by Minsk, Belarus and Riga, Latvia, as the IIHF announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. Their joint bid won by a very tight margin ...
.
The
Belfast Giants won the regular season title for a record-equalling fifth time with two games to spare, following their 2–1 overtime win at their closest challengers, the Sheffield Steelers, on 10 April 2022. Having also won the
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...
, the Belfast Giants as national league and cup champions had an opportunity to seal a Grand Slam in the playoff final by becoming British national champions for the third time, however they lost 6–3 to the
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 beating ...
– who thereby won their third consecutive playoff title and national championship.
Teams
The same ten teams that competed in the last regular season in
2019–20 are competing in the 2021–22 season.
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
2022–23 Champions Hockey League
The 2022–23 Champions Hockey League was the eighth season of the Champions Hockey League, a European ice hockey tournament. The tournament is competed by 32 teams, with qualification being on sporting merits only. The six founding leagues will ...
. The top eight teams qualified for the playoffs.
Results
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, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.
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
The quarter-final schedule was announced after the conclusion of the final-day regular season matches.
(1) Belfast Giants vs. (8) Coventry Blaze
(2) Sheffield Steelers vs. (7) Dundee Stars
(3) Cardiff Devils vs. (6) Glasgow Clan
(4) Nottingham Panthers vs. (5) Guildford Flames
Semi-finals
The schedule for the Playoff Finals weekend was announced after the conclusion of the quarter-final matches.
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Third-place match
Final
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 EIHL season
Elite Ice Hockey League seasons
2021–22 in British ice hockey
United