Injuries have hit the Elite League especially hard this season.
The Guildford Flames are at the centre of the crisis, icing as few as thirteen skaters and calling upon lower-league talent in recent weeks.
However, their injury luck turned on Sunday, staying injury-free in a 1-0 Challenge Cup loss to the Cardiff Devils.
Welcome to Around the Rinks: our daily summary of every team’s post-game media remarks.
Around the Rinks: Sunday, 2 November 2025
Guildford Flames 0-1 Cardiff Devils (Challenge Cup)
Sol Stoodley, Scott Bailey, Liam Kennington and Evan Nauth, Guildford Flames (Image: John Uwins)
Paul Dixon, Guildford Flames:
It was an interesting game, but I thought it was a very professional performance from both teams, despite neither being able to advance. We’ve had a tough couple of weeks and we’ve had to call on younger guys.
I’d like to say thanks to the Milton Keynes [Lightning], [Guildford] Phoenix, and Basingstoke [Bison] for allowing us to bring their players into the line-up. I can’t speak highly enough of those players, with Elliot [Lewis] scoring against Dundee for us on Friday. I thought they conducted themselves very well and they can be proud.
We’re banged up, but the regular Flames guys deserve a lot of credit for how they played tonight.
Paul Thompson, Cardiff Devils:
I think it was played in the right spirit, both teams. Guildford are really struggling from an injury perspective at the minute and the young kids came in and did a good job. We’re missing three key players as well, and I think myself and Paul are probably happy to get through the game with nobody else on the injury table.
Fife Flyers 1-2 Sheffield Steelers — Overtime
Eamon McAdam, Sheffield Steelers (Image: Fife Flyers)
Jamie Russell, Fife Flyers:
I’m incredibly proud of the guy, playing three games in three nights, with the final game against this team, and they gave a supreme effort. The guys battled, played with heart, and managed the puck well.
It was an outstanding game from start to finish and I can’t think of a guy who struggled throughout our line-up.
Aaron Fox, Sheffield Steelers:
Fife came ready to play tonight: they competed really hard and I don’t think we were very good in the first period.
We started to play a little bit pissed off halfway through the game and our intensity started to match. I felt like we were the better team in the second half of that game, but you can tell that there’s an identity that the Flyers are trying to play up to and it’s up to us to play hard in response.
If we can out-compete this team, we’ll give ourselves a chance every night. We’re pretty fortunate to be going home with the two points.
Glasgow Clan 4-1 Dundee Stars
Deven Sideroff, Glasgow Clan (Image: Al Goold)
Corey Neilson, Glasgow Clan:
I’m happy: it was a good performance and we were good all weekend. We’re starting to see what this team looks like with everyone in it — and we had some great goaltending from both goalies this weekend.
This blueline is as good as I’ve seen in a while, they’re solid hockey players. Our forwards are mysterious: last weekend, everything [Tristin] Langan’s line touched went in — and it was [Deven Sideroff]’s line this time. It’s two valuable league points: happy beers for me and happy beers for the boys.
Marc LeFebvre, Dundee Stars:
It was a tight checking game for the most part but you’re not going to give yourselves a chance when you only generate two shots in the second period.
I thought we had a lot of possession in the zone, but we had 26 shots blocked and we need to be getting those through traffic. I thought the game changed with the five-on-three — and we’ve given teams too many free powerplays this year, either pucks over glass or too many men.
We battled and competed at times, but it just wasn’t enough. We’re tying to force pucks and that’s making it harder for ourselves. It’s all to play for next weekend, but we’ve got to find a way to generate more offence.
