Here are the five takeaways we had from what we saw over the weekend.
- Fife have another great goalie on their hands
After being spoiled with seeing some special goalies come into Fife, following the likes of Kevin Regan and Shane Owen, Adam Morrison looks like being the latest gem uncovered by the Kirkcaldy side.
A shutout in Sunday’s Challenge Cup win at Dundee Stars and a good performance against Glasgow Clan and Fife’s last line of defence looks to be another force to be reckoned with.
Some big tests will come, but the early signs are the Flyers are in safe hands in what will be another tough campaign ahead.
Nottingham Panthers beat Guildford Flames on Saturday, but we could see these teams all take points off each other (PHOTO: John Uwins)
- The Elite League is going to be close
Coventry beat Sheffield, Sheffield beat Coventry, Nottingham beat Guildford and have beat Sheffield, Dundee beat Glasgow, who beat Fife, who beat Dundee.
We’ve got a feeling we’re going to see a lot more instances like this over the course of the season as teams take points off each other in what could be the tightest campaign yet.
Shock results, in the true sense, will be few and far between, if at all this season and will be a gambler’s nightmare, not that we endorse that sort of thing.
Happy Monday Red Army 🔴😈 pic.twitter.com/4JxLsnzgoP
— Cardiff Devils (@cardiffdevils) September 9, 2019
- Cardiff have finally got the CHL nailed
It’s looking like it’s a third time’s a charm as Cardiff Devils sit on top of their Champions Hockey League group after four games, winning three of them so far.
Victory over Graz 99ers on Saturday has given them a real chance to qualify, but their task is far from over where they take on Frolunda Indians in their final two games.
Just one win should be enough to take them into the knockout stages of the competition and what an achievement that will be.
Steelers and Blaze served up two good encounters, but Sheffield are still adapting (PHOTO: Dean Woolley)
- Steelers are still a work in progress
While expectations are high at Sheffield, with the team they’ve recruited over the summer, it’s still early days in the stewardship of Aaron Fox.
Over time, we’ll start to see the best of them, but the language coming from them over the weekend shows they’re still a work in progress.
Not many would have seen them collapse in the third period, going from a 4-3 winning position to lose 6-4 to Coventry Blaze, but they’ll learn from that and grow, as showed when they bounced back to victory on Sunday.
Peterborough Phantoms and Hull Pirates both went the distance this weekend. Is this a sign of things to come in the NIHL National? (PHOTO: Peterborough Phantoms)
- The NIHL National could be worth watching out for
The NIHL National begins this Sunday and although many of the teams will still play in pre-season games this weekend, there’s an excitement about the start of this new league and the drama we could see.
Leeds Chiefs and Sheffield Steeldogs begin the domestic action when they meet on Sunday, but the games played so far have been played with some bite and excitement.
Of the six games played between the NIHL National, five of them finished as one-goal affairs, with Swindon’s 6-1 win at Bracknell the only one not to be as close.
Fans should be excited at what we could see from this league going forward if we see more games like these.
