Welcome to your premier roundup of varying minor hockey leagues that tend not to get the media attention globally, where we will try to keep you informed of what’s happening in hockey worldwide. Each week, a contributor from Reddit’s r/hockey will give a rundown of the past week’s action in their particular league, along with what to look forward to in the next week.

To jump directly to a league, just click the following links, but if you’re looking for a good hockey read, just start scrolling.

EIHL – UK 1st League

DEL – German 1st League

Liiga – Finnish 1st League

This weekend, the EIHL wrapped up its regular season with a league title still to be decided. The Sheffield Steelers sat in 1st place, 2 points ahead of 2nd placed Cardiff Devils, but also had played one more game than Cardiff. Would the title be heading to South Wales or would it be heading to South Yorkshire for the second year in a row?

This week’s games began on Weds 16th with the Belfast Giants taking on the Cardiff Devils in the SSE Arena in Belfast. With the Devils needing to win this game to stay on track of snatching the league title from under the Steelers’ noses, the eyes of the league were on this fixture (via the official webstream or via Twitter). Unfortunately for the Welsh side, the Giants continued the recent run of good results on home ice and gave the Devils somewhat of an upset, winning 5-2. Belfast goals : Wilson (6th of season), Rutherford, Forney [2006 3rd rnd – ATL], Keefe (6), Radja. Cardiff goals : Martin x2 (30&31).

Over the weekend, the Giants would also be in home action on back to back nights, facing off against the Fife Flyers twice, taking the first meeting 5-3 on Saturday 18th. Belfast goals : Forney (25), Rutherford (21), Nickerson [2003 3rd rnd – DAL] (4), Boxill (7), Desmarais [1999 9th rnd – STL] (23). Fife goals : Dorr (19), Sacchetti [2007 2nd rnd – DAL] x2 (15&16). On the Sunday, Belfast would end the regular season with another win, this time improving their defence and walking out with a 5-1 win. Belfast goals : Radja x2 (29&30), Beech [1999 1st rnd – Capitals, 198 NHL games w/ WSH, PIT, NSH, CBJ & VAN] (25), Vandermeer [482 games & 681 PIMs in NHL w/ PHI, CHI, CAL, ARI, EDM & SJS] (2), Shields [2000 6th rnd – PHI] (17). Fife goals : Stockton.

The Nottingham Panthers had a big week ahead of them, as they would face Sheffield and Cardiff back to back over the weekend, therefore having a say in where the title would end up. Before it got to that though, they had the not-quite-small matter of overcoming ‘bogey team’ Coventry Blaze in the NIC (Nottingham). They would succeed in this task in the best way possible, winning 5-0. Nottingham goals : Bohmbach (22), Schultz (17), Lee (5), Farmer, Kolnik [1999 4th rnd – Islanders, 250 NHL games w/ FLA & NYI] (32).

The Edinburgh Capitals and Braehead Clan would face off against each other on Saturday in Braehead. The Clan needed a win to capitalise on Fife’s loss to Belfast and put them in pole position to take the Gardiner Conference trophy; this was indeed the case at the end of the night as the Clan had registered an 8-1 win over the Caps. Edinburgh goals : Dickin (14). Braehead goals : McKenzie x2 (5&6), Meyer [2003 2nd rnd – FLA, 20 NHL games w/ FLA & CGY] x2 (21&22), Pitt, Aarssen (5), Dahlman [2001 9th rnd – OTT, 22 NHL games w/ OTT] (1), Nesbitt.

On Sunday, the Clan would repeat their success by slaying the Caps 6-3 in a much closer game than the night before, therefore giving them their third Gardiner Conference title in 4 years. Braehead goals : Fritsch (5), Nesbitt (17), Gotz (6), Pitt (26), Leavitt (23), Keith [2001 2nd rnd – CHI] (23). Edinburgh goals : Milan x2 (3&4), Kolesnikovs (3).

Following on from their shutout loss to the Panthers, the Coventry Blaze went into this weekend’s fixtures with nothing really to play for in preparation for the playoff quarter-finals. On Saturday, they would face the Dundee Stars in Dundee, but would fall 2-1 in regulation. Dundee goals : Faryna (29), Dickenson [2000 4th rnd – EDM] (25). Coventry goals : Jorgensen (9).

The next night, the Blaze would romp to a massive 6-2 win over the Manchester Storm to cap off the regular season on a high note. Coventry goals : Robinson x2 (23&24), Lauzon (19), Pietrus (24), Tanaka (11), Cowley (9). Manchester goals : Scarsella (31), Valcak [2003 4th rnd – BOS] (15).

SPECIAL FEATURE: CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

As mentioned at the start of this writeup, the EIHL league championship was undecided until the final day of the season. As a result of Cardiff’s loss to Belfast during the week, this put Sheffield 2 points ahead of Cardiff with an equal number of games played. Both teams would have two fixtures across the weekend that would decide the 2015/16 Champion. The Steelers required just 3 points out of 4 to win their 2nd title in a row, while Cardiff would need Sheffield to lose either of their two games.

Saturday

– Sheffield Steelers vs Nottingham Panthers

The Steelers would steal a 4-3 win after a nervy final 10 minutes, which saw Sheffield NM Marek Pinc make a world-class save to deny the Panthers at least a point. Sheffield goals : O’Connor (13), Eddy (6), Dowd (15), Nelson [2006 6th rnd – BOS] (24). Nottingham goals : Quick [2003 3rd rnd – TBL, 6 NHL games w/ TBL] (1), Moran [1998 7th rnd – BUF, 8 NHL games w/ VAN & CBJ], Waugh [2002 3rd rnd – DAL].

– Manchester Storm vs Cardiff Devils

Cardiff would stay in the race for the title by defeating the Storm 5-2 in a game in which they were expected to dominate as the Storm had not qualified for the playoffs and had virtually nothing to play for. Manchester goals : Roehl (3), Scarsella. Cardiff goals : Culligan (6), Hotham (15), Morrissette x2 (23&24), Russell [2005 7th rnd – NYR, 41 games w/ CBJ] (6).

‘Super Sunday’

Going into ‘Super Sunday’, Sheffield needed only 1 point to win the title, while Cardiff would just need a win for themselves and a Steelers regulation loss.

– Cardiff Devils vs Nottingham Panthers

Facing off against their second contender in as many nights, there were a lot of fans (not surprisingly from Sheffield) that believed that Nottingham would ‘lay down’ and allow Cardiff an easy win to pile pressure on the Steelers, due to the heated rivalry between the Panthers and the Steelers. Whether the Panthers intended to or not, they would lose to the Devils 4-3 in Cardiff. Cardiff goals : Doucet (35), Salters (19), Haddad (16), Fournier [2009 3rd rnd – DET] (3). Nottingham goals : Farmer (9), Moran (17), Waugh (7).

– Fife Flyers vs Sheffield Steelers

Up in Scotland, the Steelers knew the task ahead of them: take a point to take the league. The Sheffield fans had travelled for 5 hours on coaches and in cars up to Fife (one of those being the author of this writeup!) in the hope of seeing the team raise the EIHL league title for the second year in a row. Were the fans happy at the end of the 3rd period? Yes they were. The Steelers would end up winning 3-1 which gave them the sole point they needed to confirm themselves as the champions! Sheffield goals : Mosienko (30), Roy x2 (31&32). Fife goals : Stockton (24).

2015/16 EIHL Champions – Sheffield Steelers





(Bonus game: Find the Author! I’m somewhere in this photo, see if you can find me. Two hints: 1) I’m a girl. 2) I’m not hidden away in a corner or tucked behind two tall people. Find the answer at the end of this writeup!)

FINAL STANDINGS

THE WEEK AHEAD (Wk beg. 22nd March)

EIHL Playoff Quarter-Finals

(QFs are played over 2 legs – one home, one away. Winners qualify for Playoff Final Weekend held at the NIC Nottingham, with the two single-legged semi-finals taking place on Sat 2nd. The 3rd place game between the two losers of the SFs and the grand final take place the next day on Sun 3rd.)

Saturday 26th

(QF 1st Legs)

– Coventry Blaze vs Sheffield Steelers @ Coventry – 7pm GMT/3pm ET

– Cardiff Devils vs Dundee Stars @ Cardiff – 7pm GMT/3pm ET

– Nottingham Panthers vs Belfast Giants @ Nottingham – 7pm GMT/3pm ET

– Fife Flyers vs Braehead Clan @ Fife – 7:15pm GMT/3:15pm ET

Sunday 27th

(QF 2nd Legs)

– Sheffield Steelers vs Coventry Blaze @ Sheffield – 5pm GMT/1pm ET

– Braehead Clan vs Fife Flyers @ Braehead – 6pm GMT/2pm ET

– Dundee Stars vs Cardiff Devils @ Dundee – 6:30pm GMT/2:30pm ET

Monday 28th

(QF 2nd Leg)

– Belfast Giants vs Nottingham Panthers @ Belfast – 7pm GMT/3pm ET

For more information, visit http://www.eliteleague.co.uk/

[Answer to ‘Find the Author’: If you guessed ‘the blonde in the front row right in the middle of the photo going crazy with her arms outstretched, you are correct! Have a can of Coke on me!]

DEL WEEKLY ROUNDUP contribution by (/u/BoilerUp218)

The quarterfinals are in full swing, and there are surprisingly few close games. Red Bull München is up 3-0 on Straubing, with a combined score of 9-0 at home in Munich, and a win in OT on the road. Meanwhile out east, Eisbären Berlin are up 2-1 over Cologne, after losing the first game 3-0 to the Haie. Across the country in Nuremberg, the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers are up 2-1 over Iserlohn Roosters in a back-and-forth series with four goals being scored in every game so far. Nuremberg, as the 6 seed, is the only lower seed in prime position for the upset. Finally, EHC Wolfsburg, playing in the home of Volkswagen, has a 2-1 lead over Düsseldorfer EG. Here’s a look at the bracket as of Tuesday:



Important games of next week: Going forward, games 4 through 7 will take place before the next Big Ice Update, which means that the Semifinal participants will be determined. The best matchup this week to watch seems to be Iserlohn vs Thomas Sabo, offering offense and huge momentum changes between the teams. It’s likely that Munich has already made it through, leaving only three open slots for the semis.

LIIGA (Finland) WEEKLY ROUNDUP contribution by (/u/HelloHelloMrFighter)

This week, the playoffs continued in Finland with some pretty exciting games.

The week started with last game of the first round, as KalPa hosted Pelicans in Kuopio. The game started as tight match and KalPa led 1-0 after first period, but Pelicans controlled, made two goals in the second period and won 1-2. That meant that Pelicans was going to play against HIFK in quarterfinals.

On Wednesday, the best players of the regular season were awarded, with Kristian Kuusela of Tappara being the MVP. He also got trophy for most points done. Chad Rau of SaiPa was awarded as the goal-king. 18-year-old Sebastian Aho of Kärpät had the best plus/minus stat. Veteran Ari Vallin of KooKoo was voted the most entertaining player.

Quarterfinals:

HIFK – Pelicans

This was predicated as the most one-sided matchup on quarterfinals by media. So far they were right as HIFK dominated in Helsinki on Friday, winning 5-1. On Saturday, HIFK won 3-0 in Lahti, with a help of Ville Husso’s shutout.

JYP – SaiPa

This was predicted as the closest matchup. JYP proved them wrong with the spectacular home win, which ended 4-1, and also stole the points on Saturday winning 2-4.

Kärpät – TPS

The defending champions Kärpät were the clear favourites going into this pair. TPS proved what they can do when they took surprise 1-2 OT win on Friday. On Saturday, Kärpät showed why they were the clear favourites, taking dominant away 1-6 win. Patrik Moisio of TPS broke the Liiga one-match personal penalty record, taking 60 minutes of penalties on Saturday.

Tappara – Lukko

This pair was also predicted to be very tight. Tappara was dominant on Friday, taking the 3-0 home victory. Lukko got angry and were unstoppable on Saturday, as they won 5-0.

Games next week:

All weekday games start 18.30 (GMT +2)

Tuesday:

HIFK – Pelicans

JYP – SaiPa

Kärpät – TPS

Tappara – Lukko

Thursday:

Pelicans – HIFK

SaiPa – JYP

TPS – Kärpät

Lukko – Tappara

All weekend games start 17.00 (GMT +2)

Saturday:

HIFK – Pelicans (if needed)

JYP – SaiPa (if needed)

Kärpät – TPS

Tappara – Lukko

Kärpät – TPS and Tappara – Lukko are still very open and anything can happen on those pairs. SaiPa and Pelicans really need to step up their game next week if they still want to continue.