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Weekend Preview – Week 25

WEEK 25 of the 2023/24 Elite Ice Hockey League season and just the one game this weekend for the Fife Flyers as they host the Coventry Blaze as the battle to get into a playoff position continues.

SATURDAY MARCH 9th v COVENTRY BLAZE @ FIFE ICE ARENA – FACE OFF 7.15pm

Recent Form Guide

This will be the final game of the regular season between the two sides. The first three meetings saw the Flyers take the points however the Blaze have won the last two albeit with games going beyond regulation the Flyers have claimed 7 points to 5 for the Blaze. The last meeting of the sides was in the middle of January. Since then the Blaze were eliminated in the Challenge Cup semi-final over two legs by the Sheffield Steelers who won 10-1 on aggregate.

In the league the Blaze won their next three games after their home win against Fife with an overtime victory against the Flames in Guildford an odd goal in seven win in Manchester and a shootout success at home against the Giants. Their four game winning run ended the following weekend in Belfast as they lost 5-2 and the next night Glasgow won at the Skydome in a shootout. Back to back games against the Panthers saw the teams split the victories with each winning on the road and this was followed by a couple of defeats with a loss in Cardiff and the Sheffield Steelers winning on their trip to the Midlands. Two midweek games against the Clan saw each win a game as  the road team prevailed on both occasions. A narrow 3-2 win at home against the Guildford Flames was followed by another close scoring game the following night as Dundee won 2-1 on Tayside. This started a run of 4 defeats with three further road losses coming in Sheffield and a double header last weekend in Belfast. In midweek the Blaze avoided a season equalling high five game losing skid when they hosted the Cardiff Devils and blanked their visitors for a 1-0 win thanks to a Johnny Curran goal. That win leaves the Blaze five points ahead of the Flyers coming into the weekend and they still have a couple of games in hand. The Blaze have the fewest regulation wins with just 7 but an incredible 12 games won in overtime or a shootout which leads the league. The Flyers lead the league in overtime or shootout losses with 11.

Last League Visit from Blaze

Overall Elite League Home Record Against Blaze

P 28 W 15 L 13 F 82 A 70

Number Crunching

In the five games so far this season the Flyers have outscored the Blaze 20-19.

The Flyers will be looking to avoid a third successive defeat against the Blaze, the last time this happened was season 2019/20.

The Blaze recorded their first shutout of the season in midweek which leaves Dundee as the only team to blank their opponents this season.

At even strength the Blaze have the fewest goals per game scored and the most goals per game conceded across all EIHL competitions this season. Blaze also have the lowest goals scored per game in the first period of all ten teams.

The Blaze have conceded the second fewest powerplay goals behind Steelers in all EIHL games played this season and one of four teams to have a plus goals differential on special teams (PP v PK).

The Flyers top goal scorer against the Blaze this term in all EIHL competitions is Johan Eriksson who has scored in four of the five games and has five goals. Flyers have had eight different scorers of their 20 goals scored. The Blaze top marksman who has also scored in four of the five games is Kobe Roth with four goals and the Blaze have ten different scorers of their 19 goals.

Across all EIHL competitions this season Flyers have scored an average of 2.98 goals per game with 2.65 being the Blaze average. Coventry have conceded an average of 3.48 goals per game with the Flyers averaging 3.83.

Pic Credit Jillian McFarlane and Derek Young