The Elite League’s title race took another twist on the final day of January.
The Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers both fell to upsets, while the Guildford Flames put six past the Fife Flyers.
Welcome to Around the Rinks our daily summary of every team’s post-game media remarks.
Around the Rinks: Sunday, 31 January
Fife Flyers 1-6 Guildford Flames
Ryan Nicholson, Fife Flyers (Image: Jillian McFarlane)
Jamie Russell, Fife Flyers:
We were right there going into the third period, but we gave up an early goal I didn’t like and then we were chasing the game with our two best offensive players out of the line-up…
We’re desperate for points and that has to be reflected in our play. We have to play with that urgency and when we’re missing [David Booth and Josh Winquist], you’ve got to play with your cards close to your chest. We let that get away from us in the third period tonight. You’ve got to give yourself a chance and you need some saves.
Paul Dixon, Guildford Flames:
It was an excellent game in the end for us. I thought we had a lot of good puck possession and managed the second period [well] until the last shift. We made a bad choice with the puck in low and got caught on the rush. That gave the Flyers some life, but our third period was excellent.
We managed to shift up a gear in the third and I’m delighted with the result. It’s a tough place to come and I thought we managed the game well: credit to the boys, we stuck with the game plan and pick up two huge points.
Again, our fans deserve a special mention for tonight and last night in Glasgow. You could hear them all night and it’s much appreciated from the whole team.
Manchester Storm 4-3 Sheffield Steelers (Shootout)
Harrison Caines, Manchester Storm (Image: Mark Ferriss)
Cam Critchlow, Manchester Storm:
First of all, there was great energy in the building tonight, it was rocking. Big shoutout to our fans: they really carried us through that game.
I liked our first period, we were playing our game and keeping it simple up and down the walls. The second we got away from it, Sheffield made us pay. They made us pay in the second period and we were probably in our zone for fifteen minutes there.
It was a strong third period from us: we had solid efforts throughout the line-up and guys stepped up. Overall, it was a good team victory.
Aaron Fox, Sheffield Steelers:
At this time of the year, two points is always what we’re looking for if we want to find our way back into [the title fight]. I didn’t like our start: Manchester were the better team in the first twenty and they were first to everything. In saying that, I loved our second and third periods: we gave up six shots combined and defended very, very hard.
I thought we were the better team in the last forty minutes and overtime could’ve gone either way. We’ve got to take care of our own business and see where things lay in the next month.
Nottingham Panthers 3-4 Dundee Stars
Tim Doherty, Nottingham Panthers (Image: Panthers Images)
Danny Stewart, Nottingham Panthers:
I can sit here and say that we out-shot and out-chanced them, but it really doesn’t matter. I thought their goalie played a heck of a game, but the result isn’t a case of bad luck. There were a lot of times when we had the puck on our stick and we bobbled or missed it. Whatever the case, there were opportunities that we couldn’t finish.
When we made mistakes, they capitalised and deserved the win. They did a good job, blocking shots and getting the second pucks instead of us. I can sit here all day and pick it apart, but we’ve got to find a way out of this funk.
It’s our first funk of the season and we need to dig in.
Marc LeFebvre, Dundee Stars:
I think proud is an understatement. Full credit to the guys: they got a big point at home against Cardiff last night and a big victory on the road against this very good Nottingham team. We had to weather the storm a bit, especially in the second period, and it was pretty tense in the end. It was a total team effort, I’m very proud of the guys.
We’ve waited a long time for a result like that, but it just shows that we can play with any team in this league.
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