The Belfast Giants extended their lead at the top of the Elite League to four points, with back-to-back wins over the Glasgow Clan and Fife Flyers.
The Giants were impressive performers all weekend, recording a shutout versus the Clan before finding twine five times against the Flyers. Adam Keefe’s side have been in excellent for lately and have won each of their last 11 games.
In contrast, the Guildford Flames and Sheffield Steelers dropped valuable points in the title race.
The Steelers came undone on Wednesday [22 February], losing 3-1 to the Manchester Storm, before taking just one point from four on offer against the Coventry Blaze.
“Well, what matters right now is the losses for us,” said Steelers head coach Aaron Fox. “We dug ourselves into a hole with those two power play goals [against], but there was good pushback in the third for us to tie the game. But, at the end of the day, all that matters is the two points and we only got one today. We were caught on the change and left our goalie out to dry [in overtime].”
The Flames also fell short of a four-point weekend, losing 3-1 to the Cardiff Devils on Sunday [26 February].
In the National League, Raiders IHC and the Milton Keynes Lightning played out a barn burner on Sunday. The Raiders ultimately secured a 6-4 win, with Milton Keynes handed two match penalties, a bench minor for abuse of officials, and a rare roughing minor to netminder Jordan Hedley.
Belfast Giants extend lead at Elite League summit
Adam Keefe, Belfast Giants (Image: Brian Kidd)
Wednesday, 22 February 2023
- Cardiff Devils 5-1 Glasgow Clan
- Manchester Storm 3-1 Sheffield Steelers
Saturday, 25 February 2023
- Guildford Flames 4-2 Fife Flyers
- Dundee Stars 3-5 Manchester Storm
- Glasgow Clan 0-4 Belfast Giants
- Sheffield Steelers 3-5 Coventry Blaze
- Nottingham Panthers 3-1 Cardiff Devils
Sunday, 26 February 2023
- Cardiff Devils 3-1 Guildford Flames
- Nottingham Panthers 4-2 Dundee Stars
- Manchester Storm 6-2 Glasgow Clan
- Coventry Blaze 4-3 Sheffield Steelers (OT)
- Fife Flyers 2-5 Belfast Giants
National League, Latest Scores
Midweek Games
- Telford Tigers 1-3 Peterborough Phantoms
- Sheffield Steeldogs 6-3 Telford Tigers
Saturday, 25 February 2023
- Basingstoke Bison 0-3 Peterborough Phantoms
- Bees IHC 4-6 Hull Seahawks
- Bristol Pitbulls 5-8 Leeds Knights
- Milton Keynes Lightning 5-1 Raiders IHC
- Swindon Wildcats 1-4 Sheffield Steeldogs
Sunday, 26 February 2023
- Hull Seahawks 6-3 Bees IHC
- Leeds Knights 8-1 Bristol Pitbulls
- Peterborough Phantoms 4-1 Basingstoke Bison
- Raiders IHC 6-4 Milton Keynes Lightning
- Telford Tigers 6-5 Swindon Wildcats (OT)
Tweet @BritIceHockey to join the conversation as the Belfast Giants extend their lead at the top of the Elite League.
