2023–24 EIHL season - Misplaced Pages

Sports season

2023–24 EIHL season
League	Elite Ice Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	22 September 2023 – 21 April 2024
Number of matches	330
Number of teams	10
Total attendance	1,133,816
Average attendance	3,532
Regular season
Season champions	Sheffield Steelers
Season MVP	Matt Greenfield (Sheffield Steelers)
Top scorer	Mitchell Balmas (Sheffield Steelers) (66 points)
Challenge Cup
Winners	Sheffield Steelers
Runners-up	Guildford Flames
Playoffs
Champions	Sheffield Steelers
Runners-up	Belfast Giants
EIHL seasons
← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 EIHL season was the 20th anniversary season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season commenced on 23 September 2023, and the final match day was on 7 April 2024; the playoff quarter-finals were held over the weekend of 14 April and the Playoff final weekend was held the following weekend.

The Sheffield Steelers won their sixth league title – and first since 2015–16 – having opened up an unassailable 14-point lead over the Cardiff Devils with a 7–3 victory over the Guildford Flames on 24 March 2024. The Steelers had also won the Challenge Cup 11 days earlier, beating the Flames 3–1 in the final. The Steelers ultimately completed their first Grand Slam in the EIHL era, defeating the Belfast Giants 3–1 in the playoff final.

The season was marred by the death of Nottingham Panthers forward Adam Johnson during a Challenge Cup match between the Panthers and the Sheffield Steelers, held on 28 October, at the Sheffield Arena. Johnson had suffered a cut to his neck by the blade of a skate, and received emergency treatment on the ice before being transferred to the Northern General Hospital, but died from his injuries. The EIHL postponed all scheduled matches for the following day, 29 October, and subsequent matches on 31 October and 1 November were also postponed. Teams returned to action on 4 November, with the exception of Sheffield and Nottingham, who returned to the ice a week and two weeks later.

Teams

The same ten teams that competed in 2022–23 competed in the 2023–24 season.

Flames class=notpageimage| Locations of the EIHL 2023–24 teams

Team	City/Town	Arena	Capacity
Belfast Giants	Belfast	SSE Arena Belfast	8,700
Cardiff Devils	Cardiff	Vindico Arena	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 2024–25 Champions Hockey League. The top eight teams qualified for the playoffs.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sheffield Steelers (C)	54	39	6	1	8	228	113	+115	91	Regular season champions Qualification to playoffs
2	Cardiff Devils	54	30	7	3	14	210	151	+59	77	Qualification to playoffs
3	Belfast Giants	54	28	4	7	15	182	147	+35	71
4	Manchester Storm	54	19	8	7	20	142	154	−12	61
5	Guildford Flames	54	17	7	10	20	160	165	−5	58
6	Coventry Blaze	54	11	12	6	25	147	185	−38	52
7	Dundee Stars	54	16	6	7	25	169	198	−29	51
8	Fife Flyers	54	14	6	11	23	166	202	−36	51
9	Nottingham Panthers	54	15	6	8	25	165	195	−30	50
10	Glasgow Clan	54	10	9	11	24	175	234	−59	49

Source: Elite League
Rules for classification: 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.
(C) Champion

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
Mitchell Balmas	Sheffield Steelers	54	23	43	66	+23	8
Troy Lajeunesse	Fife Flyers	52	28	32	60	+1	26
Ryan Valentini	Dundee Stars	53	27	33	60	–11	18
Spencer Naas	Dundee Stars	54	32	27	59	+1	2
Cole Sanford	Cardiff Devils	54	29	29	58	+13	56
Patrick Watling	Sheffield Steelers	53	22	36	58	+27	16
Gary Haden	Glasgow Clan	54	27	29	56	–25	30
Marcus Crawford	Cardiff Devils	54	4	51	55	+25	70
Marc-Olivier Vallerand	Sheffield Steelers	49	24	29	53	+27	38
Kyle Osterberg	Fife Flyers	47	22	31	53	+2	28

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
Matt Greenfield	Sheffield Steelers	47	2826:00	38	9	91	8	92.96%	1.93
Eamon McAdam	Guildford Flames	30	1794:44	14	15	75	2	91.88%	2.51
Evan Weninger	Manchester Storm	47	2795:17	23	23	118	3	92.93%	2.53
Ben Bowns	Cardiff Devils	38	2257:12	25	12	97	5	92.38%	2.58
Tyler Beskorowany	Belfast Giants	36	2049:28	21	14	96	1	89.39%	2.81

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 (12–14 April)					Semi-finals (20 April)			Final (21 April)

1	Sheffield Steelers	9	4	13

8	Fife Flyers	4	1	5
					1	Sheffield Steelers	6

					5	Guildford Flames	3
2	Cardiff Devils	4	3	7

7	Dundee Stars	2	2	4
								1	Sheffield Steelers	3
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
								3	Belfast Giants	1
3	Belfast Giants	2	1	3

6	Coventry Blaze	1	1	2
					2	Cardiff Devils	1	Third place

					3	Belfast Giants	2
4	Manchester Storm	1	0	1				2	Cardiff Devils	7

5	Guildford Flames	5	4	9				5	Guildford Flames	5

Quarter-finals

The quarter-final schedule was announced on 7 April 2024, following the conclusion of the final-day regular season matches.

(1) Sheffield Steelers vs. (8) Fife Flyers

12 April 2024	Sheffield Steelers		9–4	Fife Flyers	IceSheffield	Recap
Mitchell Balmas (1) – 10:40		First period		17:14 – Troy Lajeunesse (1)
Cole Shudra (1) – 2:58 Mitchell Balmas (2) – 4:18 Cole Shudra (2) – 11:04 Sam Jones (1) – 14:57		Second period		9:33 – Max Humitz (1)
Brandon Whistle (1) – 1:42 Mikko Juusola (1) – 2:55 Marc-Olivier Vallerand (1) – 10:36 Brett Neumann (1) – 17:47		Third period		8:17 – Max Humitz (2) 17:20 – Collin Shirley (1)
Matt Greenfield (22 shots / 18 saves)		Goalie stats		Shane Owen (35 shots / 26 saves)

14 April 2024	Fife Flyers		1–4	Sheffield Steelers	Fife Ice Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period		13:44 – Kevin Tansey (1) 19:44 – Mikko Juusola (2)
No scoring		Second period		9:24 – Marc-Olivier Vallerand (1)
Collin Shirley (2) – 14:27		Third period		19:12 – Brett Neumann (2)
Shane Owen (40 shots / 36 saves)		Goalie stats		Anthony Morrone (32 shots / 31 saves)

Sheffield Steelers win 13–5 on aggregate.

(2) Cardiff Devils vs. (7) Dundee Stars

13 April 2024	Cardiff Devils		4–2	Dundee Stars	Ice Arena Wales	Recap
Sam Duggan (1) – 17:37		First period		No scoring
Tyler Busch (1) – 1:27 Bode Wilde (1; PPG) – 13:13		Second period		0:54 – Ryan Valentini (1) 6:16 – Jake Elmer (1)
Tyler Busch (2) – 1:40		Third period		No scoring
Ben Bowns (28 shots / 26 saves)		Goalie stats		Lucas Brine (33 shots / 29 saves)

14 April 2024	Dundee Stars		2–3	Cardiff Devils	Dundee Ice Arena	Recap
Spencer Naas (1) – 3:11		First period		6:09 – Jamie Arniel (1)
No scoring		Second period		19:21 – Justin Crandall (1)
Drydn Dow (1; PPG) – 18:14		Third period		1:27 – Jamie Arniel (2; SHG)
Lucas Brine (28 shots / 25 saves)		Goalie stats		Ben Bowns (52 shots / 50 saves)

Cardiff Devils win 7–4 on aggregate.

(3) Belfast Giants vs. (6) Coventry Blaze

13 April 2024	Belfast Giants		2–1	Coventry Blaze	SSE Arena Belfast	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
Oliver Cooper (1) – 0:19 Ben Lake (1; PPG) – 11:28		Second period		4:58 – Mitch Cook (1; PPG)
No scoring		Third period		No scoring
Jackson Whistle (24 shots / 23 saves)		Goalie stats		Taran Kozun (36 shots / 34 saves)

14 April 2024	Coventry Blaze		1–1	Belfast Giants	Coventry Skydome	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		6:43 – Daniel Tedesco (1)
Danny Kristo (1; EA) – 19:59		Third period		No scoring
Taran Kozun (22 shots / 21 saves)		Goalie stats		Jackson Whistle (18 shots / 17 saves)

Belfast Giants win 3–2 on aggregate.

(4) Manchester Storm vs. (5) Guildford Flames

13 April 2024	Manchester Storm		1–5	Guildford Flames	Altrincham Ice Dome	Recap
No scoring		First period		5:28 – Ryan Hughes (1; PPG) 8:48 – Matt Tugnutt (1)
No scoring		Second period		1:59 – Steven McParland (1) 16:50 – Bradley Lalonde (1; PPG)
Mitchell Martan (1) – 7:51		Third period		2:08 – Ryan Tait (1)
Evan Weninger (34 shots / 29 saves)		Goalie stats		Taz Burman (37 shots / 36 saves)

14 April 2024	Guildford Flames		4–0	Manchester Storm	Guildford Spectrum	Recap
Nicolas Ouellet (1) – 0:16		First period		No scoring
Ryan Tait (2) – 5:42 Bradley Lalonde (2) – 8:13		Second period		No scoring
Ryan Tait (3; PPG) – 7:51		Third period		No scoring
Taz Burman (20 shots / 20 saves)		Goalie stats		Evan Weninger (47 shots / 43 saves)

Guildford Flames win 9–1 on aggregate.

Semi-finals

Following the conclusion of the quarter-final matchups, the schedule for the Finals weekend was confirmed.

20 April 2024
15:00

Sheffield Steelers

6–3
(1–0, 0–1, 5–2)

Goalies

Referees:
Chris Wells
Andy Dalton
Linesmen:
Ilia Kisil
Andrew Cook

Josh Nicholls (1; PPG) – 19:42	1–0
	1–1	28:10 – Jordan Klimek (1)
	1–2	43:21 – Matt Alvaro (1)
Brien Diffley (1) – 44:36	2–2
Mitchell Balmas (3) – 49:37	3–2
	3–3	52:35 – Steven McParland (2)
Brandon Whistle (2) – 54:26	4–3
Daniel Ciampini (1) – 55:45	5–3
Scott Allen (1; ENG) – 59:00	6–3

8 min

Penalties

8 min

Shots

20 April 2024
19:00

Cardiff Devils

1–2 (OT)
(0–0, 0–1, 1–0, 0–1)

Belfast Giants

Goalies

Referees:
Tom Pering
David Good
Linesmen:
Danny Beresford
Scott Rodger

	0–1	38:57 – Blake Speers (1)
Cody Donaghey (1; PPG) – 56:44	1–1
	1–2	68:05 – Greg Printz (1)

4 min

Penalties

6 min

Shots

Third-place match

21 April 2024
13:00

Cardiff Devils

7–5
(1–1, 4–1, 2–3)

Goalies

Referees:
Dean Smith
Graham Rodger
Linesmen:
James Nelson
Lee Young

Sam Duggan (2) – 11:22	1–0
	1–1	15:48 – Nicolas Ouellet (2)
Cole Sanford – 21:48	2–1
Cole Ully – 22:13	3–1
	3–2	25:09 – Ryan Tait (4)
Tyler Busch (3) – 29:06	4–2
Cody Donaghey (2) – 33:54	5–2
Riley Brandt (1) – 44:46	6–2
	6–3	47:16 – Lewis Hook (1)
	6–4	49:33 – Nicolas Ouellet (3)
Joey Martin (1) – 55:28	7–4
	7–5	57:58 – Turner Ripplinger (1)

2 min

Penalties

0 min

Shots

Final

21 April 2024
17:00

Sheffield Steelers

3–1
(2–0, 0–1, 1–0)

Goalies

Referees:
Tom Pering
Andy Dalton
Linesmen:
Danny Beresford
Ilia Kisil

Daniel Ciampini (2; PPG) – 15:49	1–0
Mikko Juusola (3; PPG) – 16:24	2–0
	2–1	39:52 – Blake Speers (2; PPG)
Kevin Tansey (2; ENG) – 58:57	3–1

10 min

Penalties

7 min

Shots

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
Ryan Tait	Guildford Flames	4	4	2	6	+1	0
Mitchell Balmas	Sheffield Steelers	4	3	3	6	+2	0
Steven McParland	Guildford Flames	4	3	2	5	+5	0
Scott Allen	Sheffield Steelers	4	1	4	5	+6	2
Josh Nicholls	Sheffield Steelers	4	1	4	5	+3	0
Mikko Juusola	Sheffield Steelers	4	3	1	4	+3	2
Nicolas Ouellet	Guildford Flames	4	3	1	4	+3	2
Jamie Arniel	Cardiff Devils	4	2	2	4	0	2
Daniel Ciampini	Sheffield Steelers	4	2	2	4	+3	4
Sam Jones	Sheffield Steelers	4	1	3	4	+4	0

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
Jackson Whistle	Belfast Giants	4	246:22	2	1	5	0	94.57%	1.22
Taran Kozun	Coventry Blaze	2	117:58	0	1	3	0	94.92%	1.53
Ben Bowns	Cardiff Devils	3	188:05	2	1	6	0	94.83%	1.91
Taz Burman	Guildford Flames	3	177:39	2	1	6	1	93.75%	2.03
Matt Greenfield	Sheffield Steelers	3	180:00	3	0	8	0	89.61%	2.67

Challenge Cup

The Challenge Cup was split into two stages: an initial group stage where the league's ten teams were divided into three groups based on geographical distance – one group of four teams (Group A) and two groups of three teams (Groups B and C). The three group winners, along with the five best remaining teams on win percentage qualified for the knockout stage. The quarter-finals and semi-finals were held over two legs, with a one-off final.

Group stage

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Belfast Giants	6	6	0	27	11	+16	12	Qualification to knockout stage
2	Fife Flyers	6	3	3	19	18	+1	6
3	Glasgow Clan	6	2	4	15	21	−6	4
4	Dundee Stars	6	1	5	15	26	−11	2

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Cardiff Devils	8	6	0	0	2	36	22	+14	12	Qualification to knockout stage
2	Guildford Flames	8	3	1	0	4	26	31	−5	8
3	Coventry Blaze	8	2	0	1	5	18	27	−9	5

Group C

Following the death of Adam Johnson, the Nottingham Panthers withdrew from the Challenge Cup on 8 November 2023. The game between the Sheffield Steelers and Nottingham, which was being led 2–1 by Sheffield at the time of its abandonment, was not considered in the standings or for potential tie-breaking scenarios between Sheffield and the Belfast Giants.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sheffield Steelers	6	6	0	30	8	+22	12	Qualification to knockout stage
2	Manchester Storm	6	1	5	16	28	−12	2	Qualification to knockout stage
3	Nottingham Panthers	4	1	3	9	19	−10	2	Withdrew from the competition

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals (December 2023)					Semi-finals (January & February 2024)					Final (13 March 2024)

1	Sheffield Steelers	5	5	10

8	Manchester Storm	1	1	2
					1	Sheffield Steelers	6	4	10

					7	Coventry Blaze	0	1	1
2	Belfast Giants	1	4	5

7	Coventry Blaze	1	5	6
										1	Sheffield Steelers	3
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
										5	Guildford Flames	1
3	Cardiff Devils	4	1	5

6	Glasgow Clan	3	3	6
					5	Guildford Flames	0	6	6

					6	Glasgow Clan	0	3	3
4	Fife Flyers	1	2	3

5	Guildford Flames	3	3	6

Quarter-finals

Following the conclusion of the league phase of the Challenge Cup, the quarter-final matchups (except for Belfast–Coventry) were determined on 29 November 2023. The Belfast–Coventry game dates were confirmed two days later.

(1) Sheffield Steelers vs. (8) Manchester Storm

7 December 2023	Manchester Storm		1–5	Sheffield Steelers	Altrincham Ice Dome	Recap
Michael Korol – 6:46		First period		19:59 – Robert Dowd (PPG)
No scoring		Second period		2:27 – Scott Allen 4:22 – Marc-Olivier Vallerand (PPG)
No scoring		Third period		6:59 – Patrick Watling 10:53 – Brandon Whistle
Evan Weninger (38 shots / 33 saves)		Goalie stats		Anthony Morrone (38 shots / 37 saves)

20 December 2023	Sheffield Steelers		5–1	Manchester Storm	Sheffield Arena	Recap
Cole Shudra – 11:46 Mitchell Balmas (PPG) – 16:58 Mitchell Balmas (2; PPG) – 17:59		First period		No scoring
Brandon Whistle – 8:10		Second period		No scoring
Brett Neumann (PPG) – 16:49		Third period		6:12 – Tyler Hinam
Anthony Morrone (27 shots / 26 saves)		Goalie stats		Alex Oldale (39 shots / 34 saves)

Sheffield Steelers win 10–2 on aggregate.

(2) Belfast Giants vs. (7) Coventry Blaze

13 December 2023	Coventry Blaze		1–1	Belfast Giants	Coventry Skydome	Recap
Kim Tallberg – 10:55		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
No scoring		Third period		2:45 – Matthew McLeod
Taran Kozun (32 shots / 31 saves)		Goalie stats		Tyler Beskorowany (27 shots / 26 saves)

20 December 2023	Belfast Giants		4–5	SO	Coventry Blaze	SSE Arena	Recap
Ara Nazarian – 16:26		First period			No scoring
Henrik Eriksson – 13:23		Second period			No scoring
Quinn Preston – 1:12 Henrik Eriksson (2) – 3:42		Third period			5:52 – Kim Tallberg 11:01 – David Clements 11:41 – Alessio Luciani 13:18 – J. D. Dudek
Quinn Preston Ben Lake Matthew McLeod Ciaran Long Daniel Tedesco		Shootout			Kobe Roth Danny Kristo J. D. Dudek Ian McNulty Kim Tallberg
Tyler Beskorowany (17 shots / 13 saves)		Goalie stats			Taran Kozun (40 shots / 36 saves)

Coventry Blaze win 6–5 on aggregate.

(3) Cardiff Devils vs. (6) Glasgow Clan

6 December 2023	Glasgow Clan		3–4	Cardiff Devils	Braehead Arena	Recap
Darien Craighead (PPG) – 8:05 Michael Pelech (PPG) – 12:03 Jake Bolton (PPG) – 15:59		First period		0:43 – Brandon Alderson
No scoring		Second period		4:14 – Trevor Cox 11:32 – Brandon Alderson (2)
No scoring		Third period		8:36 – Trevor Cox (2)
Antti Karjalainen (27 shots / 23 saves)		Goalie stats		Tyler Wall (37 shots / 34 saves)

13 December 2023	Cardiff Devils		1–3	Glasgow Clan	Ice Arena Wales	Recap
No scoring		First period		7:57 – Gary Haden 13:25 – Jake Bolton
Josh Waller – 7:41		Second period		No scoring
No scoring		Third period		2:01 – Darien Craighead
Ben Bowns (29 shots / 26 saves)		Goalie stats		Jake Kielly (36 shots / 35 saves)

Glasgow Clan win 6–5 on aggregate.

(4) Fife Flyers vs. (5) Guildford Flames

6 December 2023	Fife Flyers		1–3	Guildford Flames	Fife Ice Arena	Recap
Max Humitz – 11:29		First period		3:37 – Peter Crinella 5:24 – Patrick Bajkov
No scoring		Second period		15:26 – Peter Crinella (2)
No scoring		Third period		No scoring
Shane Owen (42 shots / 39 saves)		Goalie stats		Eamon McAdam (27 shots / 26 saves)

13 December 2023	Guildford Flames		3–2	Fife Flyers	Guildford Spectrum	Recap
Steven McParland (PPG) – 16:27 Ryan Tait – 18:29		First period		No scoring
Austin Glover – 13:00		Second period		14:15 – Kyle Osterberg
No scoring		Third period		10:09 – Vitalijs Pavlovs (PPG)
Eamon McAdam (28 shots / 26 saves)		Goalie stats		Shane Owen (38 shots / 35 saves)

Guildford Flames win 6–3 on aggregate.

Semi-finals

The game dates for the Sheffield–Coventry matchup were confirmed on 21 December 2023, with the Guildford–Glasgow matchup dates not confirmed until 4 January 2024.

(1) Sheffield Steelers vs. (7) Coventry Blaze

24 January 2024	Coventry Blaze		0–6	Sheffield Steelers	Coventry Skydome	Recap
No scoring		First period		0:12 – Mark Simpson 2:06 – Robert Dowd 9:40 – Daniel Ciampini 12:42 – Scott Allen 16:17 – Patrick Watling
No scoring		Second period		9:51 – Scott Allen (2)
No scoring		Third period		No scoring
Taran Kozun (32 shots / 26 saves)		Goalie stats		Matt Greenfield (31 shots / 31 saves)

31 January 2024	Sheffield Steelers		4–1	Coventry Blaze	Sheffield Arena	Recap
Sam Jones – 12:16 Brien Diffley – 17:57		First period		No scoring
Robert Dowd – 9:34 Mitchell Balmas – 19:02		Second period		14:39 – Danny Kristo
No scoring		Third period		No scoring
Anthony Morrone (14 shots / 13 saves)		Goalie stats		Nolan Kent (32 shots / 28 saves)

Sheffield Steelers win 10–1 on aggregate.

(5) Guildford Flames vs. (6) Glasgow Clan

20 January 2024	Glasgow Clan		0–0	Guildford Flames	Braehead Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period		No scoring
No scoring		Second period		No scoring
No scoring		Third period		No scoring
Antti Karjalainen (19 shots / 19 saves)		Goalie stats		Eamon McAdam (24 shots / 24 saves)

7 February 2024	Guildford Flames		6–3	Glasgow Clan	Guildford Spectrum	Recap
Ryan Tait – 3:32 Steven McParland – 6:33		First period		15:34 – Luke Lynch
Ryan Tait (2) – 4:57 Matt Tugnutt – 10:04		Second period		17:05 – Luke Lynch (2)
Lewis Hook (PPG) – 6:58 Peter Crinella (ENG) – 18:13		Third period		7:44 – Alex Roach
Eamon McAdam (30 shots / 27 saves)		Goalie stats		Kevin Lindskoug (34 shots / 29 saves)

Guildford Flames win 6–3 on aggregate.

Final

As number 1 seeds, the Sheffield Steelers hosted the final on 13 March, at Sheffield Arena.

13 March 2024
19:30

Sheffield Steelers

3–1
(2–1, 1–0, 0–0)

Guildford Flames

Goalies

Referees:
Andy Dalton
David Good
Linesmen:
Danny Beresford
Ryan Fraley

Brien Diffley – 2:00	1–0
	1–1	13:48 – Bradley Lalonde
Patrick Watling (PPG) – 19:41	2–1
Mitchell Balmas – 24:35	3–1

4 min

Penalties

4 min

Shots

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the Challenge Cup. 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
Mitchell Balmas	Sheffield Steelers	12	6	11	17	+7	4
Patrick Watling	Sheffield Steelers	12	5	10	15	+11	2
Ryan Tait	Guildford Flames	13	9	5	14	+3	2
Marc-Olivier Vallerand	Sheffield Steelers	11	6	8	14	+9	2
Daniel Ciampini	Sheffield Steelers	12	4	9	13	+7	10
Trevor Cox	Cardiff Devils	10	6	6	12	+8	4
Marcus Crawford	Cardiff Devils	10	1	11	12	+10	12
Peter Crinella	Guildford Flames	13	8	3	11	+3	4
Mark Cooper	Belfast Giants	7	4	7	11	+5	2
Mikko Juusola	Sheffield Steelers	12	0	11	11	+9	6

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 Challenge Cup.

Player	Team(s)	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Anthony Morrone	Sheffield Steelers	8	453:47	8	0	11	0	94.47%	1.45
Tyler Beskorowany	Belfast Giants	6	354:23	4	1	12	0	90.77%	2.03
Ben Bowns	Cardiff Devils	6	342:27	4	2	13	1	92.40%	2.28
Eamon McAdam	Guildford Flames	6	341:01	4	1	13	1	91.03%	2.29
Jake Kielly	Glasgow Clan	6	329:45	3	2	13	1	92.74%	2.37

Notes

Morrone is credited by the EIHL as having played 20 minutes in the game against the Nottingham Panthers on 28 October, despite 33:47 having been played.
Kielly is credited by the EIHL as having played 5 games, with an appearance of 32:18 – in relief of Antti Karjalainen – against the Dundee Stars on 12 November missing.

References

"Gamecentre". EIHL. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
"Steelers win 2023/24 Elite League title!". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
Harrison, Phil (13 March 2024). "Sheffield Steelers 3 Guildford Flames 1 - Steelers up and running as they secure first piece of silverware in Challenge Cup". The Yorkshire Post. Yorkshire Post Newspapers. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
"Steelers complete season Grand Slam with play-off win". BBC Sport. BBC. 21 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
"Adam Johnson: Nottingham Panthers forward dies after neck cut in Challenge Cup match". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
^ "Adam Johnson: Nottingham Panthers player dies after 'freak accident' in ice hockey match against Sheffield Steelers". Sky Sports. Sky UK. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
Morgan, Tom (29 October 2023). "Adam Johnson: Nottingham Panthers ice hockey player dies after throat cut by opponent's blade". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
"EIHL Statement: Adam Johnson". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
"Club Statement: Upcoming fixtures". Nottingham Panthers. Nottingham Panthers Limited. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
^ "Adam Johnson: Elite League postpones midweek games after death of Nottingham Panthers forward". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
"Elite League Info". Nottingham Panthers. Nottingham Panthers Limited. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
"Statistics: Players - Elite Ice Hockey League 2023/2024". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
"Statistics: Goalies - Elite Ice Hockey League 2023/2024". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
"Line-up set for Playoff Quarter-Finals". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
"Statistics: Players - Elite Ice Hockey League 2023/2024 - Playoffs". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
"Statistics: Goalies - Elite Ice Hockey League 2023/2024 - Playoffs". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
"2023/24 Challenge Cup Format". Elite Ice Hockey League. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
"Eight-time winners Nottingham Panthers withdraw from Challenge Cup after Adam Johnson death". ITV News. ITV plc. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
"Tie-breaking in the Challenge Cup". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 22 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
^ "Challenge Cup Final on 13 March in Sheffield". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
"Challenge Cup Quarter-Finals set". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 29 November 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
"Challenge Cup Quarter Final Dates Confirmed". Coventry Blaze. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
"Semi Final Dates Confirmed Vs Coventry Blaze". Sheffield Steelers. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
"Flames vs. Clan Cup SFs scheduled". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. 4 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
"Statistics: Players - Challenge Cup 2023/2024". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
"Statistics: Goalies - Challenge Cup 2023/2024". Elite Ice Hockey League. Pendulum Management. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
The Nottingham Panthers (28 October 2023). "33:47 - The game is stopped for a bad injury. Steelers 2 Panthers 1" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 November 2023 – via Twitter.
"Report: Dundee Stars 6 Glasgow Clan 2". Glasgow Clan. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023. James Phelan then doubled Dundee's lead almost instantly with a slot drive and back hand finish before Jake Kielly replaced Karjalainen in the Clan net.
"Dundee Stars 6:2 Glasgow Clan - Official Gamesheet". Elite Ice Hockey League. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.

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