WEEK 15 of the 2023/24 Elite Ice Hockey League season and tis the season to play hockey with a pair of festive back to back derby fixtures against both the Dundee Stars and the Glasgow Clan to see out 2023.
TUESDAY DECEMBER 26th v DUNDEE STARS @ FIFE ICE ARENA – FACE OFF 5.00pm
Recent Form Guide
This will be the Stars second visit to the Auld Barn in league play this season with the Flyers making their first visit to Tayside tomorrow evening. The teams last met in the middle of November when the Stars prevailed 6-4 which kick started a winning streak of four games. The following weekend they defeated the Guildford Flames in a couple of one goal games winning 5-4 on home ice before taking a shootout decision at the Spectrum. The Manchester Storm were then downed 4-2 at Dundee Ice Arena before the Coventry Blaze stopped the streak with a similar score at the Skydome. The Cardiff Devils then won twice over the span of two weeks in Dundee and the Steelers also visited and returned with both points. Sandwiched in that run was a Stars win in Nottingham where they once again came out on top in a shootout. A trip to Cardiff saw the Devils cruising 5-1 until three Dundee goals late in the game set up a tense finish but the Stars left empty handed. The following night the Stars hosted the Sheffield Steelers who had been victorious against the Flyers the previous night and the Yorkshire side maintained their top of the table position with a 5-0 win, the second time this season that the Stars had been shutout and a league best fifth shutout for the Steelers at that time. Last weekend the Stars played just the one game when they travelled west to defeat the Glasgow Clan 4-2 at Braehead Arena which lifted them into the top eight as they sit two points ahead of the Flyers with two fewer games played.
Last League Visit from Stars
Overall Elite League Home Record Against Stars
P 40 W 21 L 19 F 133 A 115
Number Crunching
Troy Lajeunesse and Collin Shirley have scored in each of the three previous meetings with the Stars this season.
Anthony Rinaldi has done likewise for the Stars.
Collin Shirley top scores for the Flyers against the Stars so far with 4 goals whilst Spencer Naas and Anthony Rinaldi have a similar number for Dundee in those three fixtures.
Dundee have scored fewest goals in the first period of matches and have given up the most in the second period across all EIHL competitions.
Dundee have a -9 goal differential between powerplay goals scored and conceded the Flyers are a -6
Looking at the goal differential of the teams across all EIHL competitions this season: Stars are a -11 in period one a -16 in period two and +2 in period three. Flyers are -15 in the first a -10 in the second and -2 in the third period.
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 27th v DUNDEE STARS @ DUNDEE ICE ARENA – FACE OFF 7.30pm
Last League Visit to Stars
Overall Elite League Away Record Against Stars
P 39 W 18 L 21 F 132 A 141
Number Crunching
The Flyers have won on their last two visits to Dundee Ice Arena but have only 1 win from their last four visits in league play.
Only Coventry have conceded more even strength goals than the Stars and Flyers.
SATURDAY DECEMBER 30th v GLASGOW CLAN @ BRAEHEAD ARENA – FACE OFF 7.00pm
Recent Form Guide
Flyers will round out the year with a couple of games against the Glasgow Clan in what will be their respective second home games against each other this season with the visitors so far holding the upper hand. Since the teams last met on November 11th the Clan have put together a number of consistent performances that has seen them climb from the foot of the standings. An overtime win at home against the Guildford Flames was followed by an impressive road win in Sheffield. A couple of heavy road losses followed as Guildford Flames won 7-2 and Belfast Giants 5-1 but the Clan returned home for a pair of games and picked up maximum points. Firstly the Manchester Storm were vanquished 4-3 in overtime followed by a 3-1 defeat being handed to the Belfast Giants. The momentum continued with a 4-2 win in Manchester and returning home from Cardiff with a point in a 3-2 overtime loss. That loss came either side of the Clan meeting the Devils in the two legs of their Challenge Cup Quarter final and after a narrow one goal loss on home ice the Glasgow side progressed to the semi-finals with a 3-1 at the Vindico Arena. Next up was a home and home against the Coventry Blaze which yielded a couple of points as both games were decided in overtime with the Blaze taking the extra point in each match as they stretched their unbeaten run to eight games. Last weekend the Clan met the Devils in Wales and in a feisty encounter returned home after a 4-1 defeat to then fall as mentioned above to the Dundee Stars the following night. Coming into the festive period the Clan have played two fewer games than the Flyers and sit four points ahead of them in the standings.
Last League Visit to Clan
Overall Elite League Away Record Against Clan
P 40 W 11 L 29 F 105 A 164
Number Crunching
Max Humitz leads the Flyers in scoring against the Clan this season with four goals so far whilst Gary Haden has scored in three of the four games for a total of three goals so far and is the all-time leading scorer for Glasgow against the Flyers with 13 goals.
The Flyers have outshot Clan in three of their four meetings so far this season.
Looking at the goal differential of the teams across all EIHL competitions this season: Clan are a -4 in period one a -6 in period two and -12 in period three. Flyers are -15 in the first a -10 in the second and -2 in the third period.
Glasgow have a +2 goal differential between powerplay goals scored and conceded and the Flyers are a -6
SUNDAY DECEMBER 31st v GLASGOW CLAN @ FIFE ICE ARENA – FACE OFF 5.00pm
Last League Visit from Clan
Overall Elite League Home Record Against Clan
P 39 W 19 L 29 F 126 A 125
Number Crunching
In league play the Clan have won on their last five visits to the Auld Barn.
HOGMANAY GAMES – this is the second consecutive season that the Flyers have hosted a game on December 31st. During their EIHL era there have been a number of road games played on this date but last season was the first at home against the Belfast Giants who won 7-2. Only two other games at home have been played on this date in Flyers history – season 1994/95 with the Edinburgh Racers winning 10-8 and 1948/49 when the Flyers beat the Dundee Tigers 6-3.
