Power Rankings Update; December 2025

December has seen a mammoth month of fixtures that has seen out the Challenge Cup and provided some upsets, collapses and revivals.

Largely thanks to a busy recruitment and attrition phase of the schedule, which has impacted teams, results and form.

Another 47 games were played, 46 for regular season, as Panthers matched up on the road vs Clan in the cup quarter final knockout game, both short benched, except Panthers were missing their best players and soundly defeated Clan in back to back seasons in the same stage.

There was also a super Friday with all 10 teams playing on Boxing Day that delivered a lot of shocks, which kept some blushes for a few teams, opening the door for a chasing title holder.

There were 267 goals scored across those fixtures, which featured 7 shutouts, with three on one game day (13th), 5 shootouts and 6 overtimes, totalling 69 goals for the extra hockey, with a game average of over 6 goals needed to be split, meaning a high chance of games being settled for the winner at 4:3.

December Rankings

For the purpose of the EIHL Face-Off podcast, there was a fixture split to workout the rankings per ‘game week’ as the festive period was a mammoth chunk of fixtures, which meant we had to split the honours for up to Boxing Day then the rest for the purpose of the next.

This will include all the New Years fixtures (30th, 31st December) then the following January games.

Then, it was about focusing just on December for the purpose of this article, so, if you noticed a slight difference or leave this feeling a bit confused, the article focuses just on December, with a current overall based off this month, despite some updates to come, for the purpose of the podcast.

Then, it is back to normal for the rest of the season.

Both Devils and Giants made strides during December, having a strong month overall, with just the last two games going awry, they built a strong base which left the likes of Steelers and Panthers behind with a bit of distance.

One of the biggest improvements came in the form from Flames, particularly with how they have always kept themselves in games or at the very least, losses to the barest minimum. This contributed to one of their best months in the system, which has seen a huge positive swing.

Thanks to a wave of high profile signings for Flyers, they have battled to wins or extras to collect more points at a faster projected speed, which saw them marginally elevate themselves beyond the basement, leaving Stars to get cemented in a free fall which spanned their months’ fixture slate.

Chart outlining the swings in form across the table, from Steelers to Stars, with blue for November and red for December.

As can be seen with Flames, there isn’t much with November, as they were so even in the win/loss, they were actually scored at 0 going into December. Where as for Steelers, Panthers and Clan, you clearly see the regressing and polar opposites for the Eastern Scottish rivals.

So, how does the overall power rankings look up to the new year?

Thanks to strong showings for Giants and Devils, Steelers has been slightly knocked off the top spot, with the former reaching third overall.

Despite Flyers’ recent resurgence, they still averaged pretty low and have a massive deficit to make up for their first half beatings and losing streak.

What was once a 3 tiered league, now looks to be a lot closer, with a good game away from success or not. Flames cut a huge deficit also, so if they continue the trend, they would both climb and close gaps on those above them.

Thanks to a recent dip for Panthers and a collapse from Clan, they have evened out, however, with players returning for Panthers, it won’t take them long to back up their overall league position, but for Clan, if the trend continues they could fast catch themselves in fast downhill trajectory.

Halfway through the season and this league has a lot more stories to deliver.

Projected End of Season Standings as of January 3rd 2026