Recap; The Good, The Bad and All The Rest

League Record So Far; 15 – 3 – 4; 34 points, Joint 1st, 3rd Overall

L10GP; 7 – 0 – 3

CARDIFF, WALES – It has been a period of weeks where the results have just churned along, with a quiet, uneasy tension behind them.

Some games are too close to feel comfortable, some needed extras to settle, others have been gong shows, with a few that seemed to bore the onlookers, even.

A true mix of what sport should be expected as. It is never a given, competitive hockey isn’t always a guarantee for outcomes and performances can bewilder, inspire and leave you feeling both jubilant and dejected all the same.

The beauty of sport. The infamy of ice hockey.

32% of the games played in regular season so far have been against last seasons’ top 3, with just 3 losses amongst those fixtures. Add in 4 more that went 50% in wins for the cup, overall to date, Devils have won 60% of match ups vs their rivals.

If anyone would tell a Devils fan at the start of the season that would be the case as we approached Christmas, they would faint from laughing in abject hysterics.

Yet here we are. 4 of 6 points vs Giants. 3 of 4 points vs Steelers and max points so far vs Panthers.

It is a disservice to the league, that the club are out of the cup, despite a strong start.

Yet, quietly, under the radar, they have gone about their business. Getting the job done.

Of course, it hasn’t been plain sailing, with a disaster in Scotland in front of a huge travelling support and some games falling well below standards against mid-table teams, not to mention the cup.

Skating into the festive period proper, there is something almost magical afoot.

Taken via EIHL website

The top of the table is too close to call. One game separates the top two from Devils, leaving them with a lower win% to offset their position at the top, despite having the better of Panthers in the league this far and more regulation wins vs Steelers at this stage in direct comparison (head to head).

Panthers have a single reg W over the Devils, yet it is that win% being the difference.

In my most previous article, https://hockeysteve.co.uk/2025/12/12/power-rankings-update-november/ an update on the Power Rankings with EIHL Face-Off podcast, it highlighted how the table looked based on form, with the top 3, the same top 3 of course, separated by 4 points.

I even crunched the terms, variables and queries via ChatGPT, which it threw out an almost identical scenario (based on 10,000 simulations), which backs up the model created for the power rankings system.

The system used looks to be a strong indicator. The top 3 via ChatGPT had 89/86/82 points end of season prediction, as of 21st December. The power rankings model had 88/84/81 when published some time before that.

It doesn’t stop there however.

The biggest talking point would be that debate over goals vs not enough; one that the latter was winning and quite firmly.

Going into Christmas, Devils lead the league in goals scored with 84, overtaking Panthers and putting distance between them and Steelers.

Something, which hasn’t been the case for quite a few seasons.

At the same stage last season, to the date, Devils amassed 80 goals, with a far superior forwards group (after 22GP). However, this was a time where the squad was severely depleted due to injuries and the blue liners were very absent in their offensive production.

Despite what feels like at times a better defensive group overall compared to previous seasons, with 43 conceded so far against 48 at the same stage last season. All the hallmarks point toward good tweaks and slight improvements, but nothing fancy or flashy.

Some could caveat that it took a while for the better players to get going, however, even with 4 players out at this stage in the season; one is a bonafide injury, one a goalie and the other two are healthy scratches, of which are the bottom end of the roster.

Devils at this stage a year ago, were missing O’Brien, Shinkaruk, Duke and others, with more hockey played due to the ongoing group stage in the cup and European games abroad (unlike some EIHL team this season).

Beyond what is a fantastic outcome for the near halfway stage of the season, the goals have improved, the goals against have also improved, the injuries are not as disruptive and moves were made to bring in reinforcements (Ferguson, Maclean) early, rather than later (or too late to some).

There is more positive news.

Goal tending.

Last season was a continuous cycle of near shutouts for Bowns, Carruth took an injury, as did Bowns and they brought in Taz Burman, who notched a shutout before the GB number one. Injuries were everywhere across the roster.

The season started competitively, even in pre-season, as GB hosted vital games in Cardiff, with the then coach calling upon his Brits to suit up.

It was relentless.

After 22 games, Devils managed just 2 shutouts, to memory, this was Burman and Carruth.

After 18GP this regular season, Bowns has 6 shutouts, 7 overall including the cup and doesn’t look like slowing down.

His GAA is at 1.52, held since the start of the campaign, facing almost 500 shots. Only veteran import net minder, Kevin Carr has a goal against less than Bowns, with 5 games played less (for goalies over 10GP). He is likely on course for his career best season.

Where some of the good vibes start to stumble is the manner of wins. Devils have 13 regulation wins from 22GP, 59% so far.

Compared to last season, they managed 15/22, for 68% in regulation wins. It doesn’t seem that significant, just two regulation wins being the difference.

It is likely what sparks some views and concerns of ‘inconsistency’ and for good reason. To the same stage, Devils went to extras twice, losing twice.

So far, 2/6 games were settled in OTW’s. The extra points are good however. They finished 4th last season, with 7 games from 54 going to OT and they lost 4 of those. This unfortunately, has been matched before Christmas crackers are sprung and Aaron Murphy level jokes are read from them.

They are to an ever eternal optimist, good things from a ‘bad situation’ as they are good problems to have. Already there has been a slight improvement on production, be it quite minimal, at +0.18%. Their GAA is improved at +0.23%.

The coaching has been a massive factor for their execution and drive to win. Some games last season were lost due to close deficits and when the same situations arose across the play this season, there has been a will to dig deeper and keep grafting.

The bar was set, standards cemented and there is no room for complacency. Arguably their worst period of the year in terms of performance was during the Scottish triple header.

Calls were even made for sackings and ‘bringing in changes’, such is the fickleness of spectator sport.

The only tangible variable that needs immediate improvement is their special teams, especially the power play.

The power play was non-existent until almost 15 games overall, with more luck in the cup. Their first league PPG came on November 1st. Since then, they have converted 7 times on the PP, going for 12%, sitting at just 13.79% overall, 2nd bottom.

Since moving Lacroix to the top line in recent weeks, he has also seen his TOI improved with roles on both special teams. This hasn’t been a success, with a lack of flair to pick at holes in shooting lanes and being completely stuck in the mud whilst defending on the PK.

The combinations certainly deserve scrutiny, however, by now, this should be an area that is well scouted, assessed and solutions made to address. Improve this, the rest improves leaving a lot of doubts for dust.

The lack of nuance to create a thoroughly productive special team unit and system that is successful can often lead one to think that it isn’t a concern for the coaches, who spend little time with it. Even if this would be argued otherwise, the stats back it up.

So far just 5 players have notched a PPG, the amount was the Goats overall last season (8), with 35 PPG’s spread across 11 skaters, ending up -1.71% from the top PP in the league in 5th place. Just shy of the halfway point to the season, there is a lot of ground to make up, so hopefully it pans out.

This ultimately backs up the concerns even continued calls for a higher quality skater to join the club, who has that ability to score, especially on the PP. Add that to the mix, the table wouldn’t be so close and those nervy games would fade away.

Point Streaks, or lack thereof

It took Sanford a long time to get cooking, but once he did it seems to be building. Since his 4 point night vs Flames in another 7:1 thrashing of Paul Dixon’s side, he has now put up points in 5 consecutive games, with 6A and 1G.

As stated during last season and the off-season reflections, Sanford is more playmaker than goal scorer, but he does sit atop the Devils tree with 22 points on the season, at a lovely point per game pace, 5th overall in the league.

He has now gone 3 games without a goal, one less than veteran Brit, Brett Perlini, who is 2nd overall for his club. His streak is true to form, a few games on, a couple games off. Predictable almost.

Last nights game vs Storm was Josh MacDonalds‘ 100th all time EIHL game, he is also 7 points shy from a century overall.

Following a 3 game skid of no points, he has scored 5 goals in 4 games, putting up 7 points in the process. He is trending up once again, after being dormant since April.

Kontos had a 5 game point streak snapped in Manchester on the weekend, he put up 6 points during that time, often with key goals or being a key player at the right time.

One player who he lines up with and has a slightly better shooting % is Ryan Barrow. Ever industrious, he is having one of his best start to a season as Devil, now just 5 regular season goals short of his best overall, last in 2023/24 (13), projected to 40 points for the season, his career best.

After putting up 3 goals vs Clan in consecutive games, he has hit a 3 game skid for points, so hopefully he can find some form in during the festive season bouts vs Blaze and Flames, respectively.

Another who has had a rapid start but seems to be going cold is blue liner, Brandon Estes (15) who is joint top defensive points scorer with Mosey. He went on a 7 game streak until the triple header, since then, his name has only been on the scoresheet 4 times in 10 games.

Perhaps we have witnessed his ceiling very early on, with the grind of the calendar setting in. His play at 5v5 is immense, which deservedly garners high praise. However, his ability to drive the PP has been found desperately wanting, a role that is better suited for Fournier, with Martin, MacDonald, Barrow and Perlini as the preferred PP1 unit to roll out.

December has reflected the results entirely for the top players on the roster to date. Every player is chipping in, despite some downturns and minuscule droughts. Collectively, they are finding ways to win games, which is all that matters.

They now approach a time of year which can make or break a season, of which to this point, they have certainly proven they are not a mid table team and perhaps, should be respected as a formidable opponent each game night.