The Guildford Flames reinforced their lead at the top of the Elite League with back-to-back wins over the Coventry Blaze and Glasgow Clan.
On Saturday [3 December], the Flames and Blaze left spectators at the Skydome Arena on the edge of their seats with a nine-goal thriller.
“My first thought is that I’m obviously delighted with the two points,” Flames head coach Paul Dixon said. “We were in a great position at the end of the second period, but they scored a couple of goals at the end. I’m just happy to see that one out.”
On Sunday [4 December], the Flames saw off the threat of the Glasgow Clan with a 5-3 win on home ice.
Guildford also enjoyed a successful weekend off the ice, adding centreman Logan Fredericks, 27, to their roster for the rest of the season.
“What we have found this season is we don’t have as much depth up the middle as we might like so bringing in a quality centre iceman is something we think will give us a boost moving forward,” Dixon explained.
“Logan is a very good two-way guy who can handle himself in his own end and also should be able to contribute in offensive situations as well. We are excited to have him join us and we look forward to getting him in the line up.”
Fredericks arrives from the ECHL’s Wichita Thinder, for whom he recorded 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 61 appearances as a rookie.
Elsewhere in the Elite League, the Manchester Storm enjoyed a weekend to remember. Matt Ginn’s side beat the Belfast Giants twice on the road to improve their record on the season to 7-11-1.
“I think, to a man, everybody bought in,” Ginn told reporters in Belfast. “It’s tough to win here, against a very strong Belfast team, and I felt everyone battled [and] competed for the full 60 minutes in both games.”
If losing back-to-back wasn’t bad enough, the Giants also have to recover from putting the puck in their own net:
Sometimes it's just not your night 🙈 | #EIHL pic.twitter.com/5JJBXfbbwK
— Elite Ice Hockey League | #EIHL (@officialEIHL) December 4, 2022
In the National League, the Leeds Knights and Sheffield Steeldogs recorded shutout wins over the Bristol Pitbulls and Milton Keynes Lightning, respectively.
Guildford Flames score back-to-back wins at the summit:
Friday, 2 December 2022
- Manchester Storm 1-5 Coventry Blaze
- Nottingham Panthers 1-6 Fife Flyers
Saturday, 3 December 2022
Robert Lachowicz, Guildford Flames (Image: Scott Wiggins)
- Belfast Giants 2-5 Manchester Storm
- Sheffield Steelers 2-3 Cardiff Devils
- Dundee Stars 4-5 Nottingham Panthers (OT)
- Coventry Blaze 4-5 Guildford Flames
- Fife Flyers 2-3 Glasgow Clan
Sunday, 4 December 2022
- Belfast Giants 4-5 Manchester Storm
- Coventry Blaze 5-4 Sheffield Steelers (SO)
- Cardiff Devils 6-4 Dundee Stars
- Guildford Flames 5-3 Glasgow Clan
National League, Week 12:
Saturday, 3 December 2022
- Basingstoke Bison 6-3 Telford Tigers
- Bristol Pitbulls 0-3 Leeds Knights
- Milton Keynes Lightning 0-3 Sheffield Steeldogs
- Raiders IHC 3-5 Peterborough Phantoms
- Swindon Wildcats 7-3 Hull Seahawks
Sunday, 4 December 2022
- Bees IHC 1-7 Basingstoke Bison
- Hull Seahawks 1-5 Bristol Pitbulls
- Leeds Knights 1-4 Swindon Wildcats
- Peterborough Phantoms 10-7 Raiders IHC
- Telford Tigers 3-6 Sheffield Steeldogs
Liam Kirk adds assist to tally with the Atlanta Gladiators:
Liam Kirk improved his tally on the season to four points in six appearances with a secondary assist to Zach Yoder in a heavy defeat for the Atlanta Gladiators versus the Savannah Ghost Pirates.
Liam Kirk, Atlanta Gladiators (Image: ECHL)
- 30/11/22: Atlanta Gladiators 1-5 Savannah Ghost Pirates
- 03/12/22: Greenville Swamp Rabbits 2-1 Atlanta Gladiators
- 04/12/22: Greenville Swap Rabbits 2-3 Atlanta Gladiators
What did you make of the Guildford Flames’ back-to-back wins? Join the conversation by tweeting @BritIceHockey.
