The Glasgow Clan stayed hot on Saturday [18 October], edging the Cardiff Devils in a shootout to remain top of the Elite League.
Brett Neumann scored the game-winning goal to keep Corey Neilson’s squad out front in the early running, with the Sheffield Steelers and Nottingham Panthers also winning big in gameweek six.
Welcome to Around the Rinks: our daily summary of every team’s post-game media remarks.
Around the Rinks: Saturday, 18 October 2025
Guildford Flames 6-3 Manchester Storm
Josh Waller, Guildford Flames (Image: John Uwins)
Cam Critchlow, Manchester Storm:
I don’t think it was our best effort. I thought we left Evan Wenninger out to dry and those nights are going to happen.
You have to be mentally-strong and show resiliency, which we have over the last few weeks, but it wasn’t our night. Guildford played extremely well, they’re very short-staffed, but they brought their best stuff tonight and were unable to match them.
Paul Dixon, Guildford Flames:
I thought the fans were fantastic. They recognise where we are with the team: eight forwards and five defencemen, coming into the this game. They really got behind the boys and it was massive for us to score on the first shift.
Overall, it was an excellent performance by the team. Sometimes, you stand here and have to look for positive things to say when the team hasn’t performed, but I stand here tonight and I can’t speak highly enough of them.
They were absolutely brilliant, to a man, and they deserve so much credit. It’s been a tough start for us, but we’re starting to turn the corner over the last couple of weeks. We’ll enjoy this tonight and see what next week brings.
Coventry Blaze 1-6 Sheffield Steelers
Colton Saucerman, Coventry Blaze (Image: Scott Wiggins)
Aaron Fox, Sheffield Steelers:
I’m obviously happy with the way we performed in the first period — it set the tone for our group and our special teams [play] was elite tonight.
We were rolling pretty well at five-on-five. It would’ve ben nice to close the door at the end for [Matthew Greenfield], but we’ll take the sixty-minute effort.
Kevin Moore, Coventry Blaze:
That was a brutal one: we made some stupid mistakes and after a couple of those we were just totally disconnected. Focus drifted and it just becomes hard to play. It was a brutal one, but we’re ready to reset and put in a better effort for our fans tomorrow.
Cardiff Devils 2-3 Glasgow Clan — Shootout
Steven MacLean, Cardiff Devils (Image: James Assinder)
Corey Neilson, Glasgow Clan:
I thought Cardiff were excellent tonight: they moved the puck through our trap very well, did some really creative things, and their powerplay was better than usual.
I wouldn’t say our goaltender stole the game, but it was close to that. He was fantastic and exactly what we paid for when we brought him in.
Paul Thompson, Cardiff Devils:
I thought the first period was pretty even: we had a couple of good looks. They were a little bit better to start the second period, they were stripping pucks well and looked energised.
From the powerplays onwards, we took over the game. We had so many good lucks today and we just need to put the puck in the net: it’s just as simple as that. Their goalie was excellent today, but we didn’t get it done offensively today.
Belfast Giants 3-1 Fife Flyers
Patrick Grasso, Belfast Giants (Image: William Cherry)
Jamie Russell, Fife Flyers:
I thought our guys played a much smarter game — we’re starting to learn how to manage the puck and we’re not trying to force plays. Belfast are really good in transition: if you turn over the puck in the wrong spot, they’re coming back at you in numbers.
I thought our penalty kill was good tonight, even though we gave up two goals. That’s a credit to Belfast: their powerplay gets you running around and they find seams. I’m proud of the guys: we’ll stick with it and try to find our bounces.
Adam Keefe, Belfast Giants:
I don’t think we played poorly, but we didn’t play our best. Fife made it very hard on us, they imposed their gameplan on us. I would’ve liked to see us impose our gameplan on them and we did at times, but not for long enough.
It wasn’t a lack of effort: they were just winning some of those foot-races and puck battles. Credit to them, they stuck around in the game and it would’ve been a much different hockey game without our two powerplay goals.
I thought our guys were solid enough to get the win, but we’re going to need to be much better to do the same in their building tomorrow night. We need to be prepared for that type of compete level from Fife — and I did like that we kept them below twenty-five shots.
There were certainly some good things in that game, but we want to have a more complete game tomorrow.
Dundee Stars 2-5 Nottingham Panthers
Drydn Dow, Dundee Stars (Image: Derek Black)
Danny Stewart, Nottingham Panthers:
I really liked our game tonight. I thought we were unlucky to be tied at 2-2, but we came out strong in the third period and got the right result.
We thought we were playing good hockey and were outshooting them early. I couldn’t really be happier with the performance.
Marc LeFebvre, Dundee Stars:
They controlled the neutral zone and our puck management wasn’t good in the first period. We had a bit of pushback in the second period and it was good to score on the powerplay.
I thought their third and fourth goals were pretty soft from us: we have to win those battles. We’re hacking and whacking down at their end, but they’re clearing those loose pucks.
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