This weekend is the final weekend of the inaugural Gardiner Conference in the Elite Ice Hockey League and it is all set to go right to the wire, to determine the winner of the Division. It has been a hard fought season, with plenty of drama, goals and controversy and has provided much more entertainment than the rival Erhardt division. Despite the Scottish sides making up the bottom half of the big league, the local rivalries have intensified throughout the year and have built up to this last round of games.
Last weekend saw the end of season picture become a little bit clearer in terms of how the efforts of Braehead Clan, Fife Flyers, Dundee Stars, Edinburgh Capitals and Hull Stingrays will be rewarded come this Sunday evening. With The Clan and The Stars in pole position for the Gardiner title, they faced off at Braehead Arena last Saturday, knowing that the victor would gain a slender advantage in the battle for the first Conference trophy.
Despite having held a 3-1 lead, Jeff Hutchins' side capitulated to an Ash Goldie inspired Clan, who romped to a 6-3 victory, earning the Purple Army back to back wins for the first time since arresting their recent winless slump. It was Braehead's only game of the weekend, which took them two points clear of the Stars, albeit for 24 hours. The Tayside club took on Hull Stingrays on Sunday, shutting them out 5-0 to draw themselves back to level pegging at the top of the Conference.
A Hull win would have been the ideal way to end their Conference season, as it would have pushed them ahead by two points atop the Gardiner, but it wasn't to be as Sylvain Cloutier's side now must concentrate on their final big league weekend to earn a Play Off quarter final berth. With matches against Sheffield Steelers and Coventry Blaze on the radar, two wins may still not be enough to see them rise off the foot of the EIHL table.
A double header between Fife Flyers and Edinburgh Capitals saw a minor upset, as the much improved Caps suffered two losses to their Kirkcaldy rivals, losing out 5-1 in Fife on Saturday and 4-2 on home ice the following night. With the Flyers two points clear of the rest of the Scottish sides in the big league, those wins mean they are in the best of the PlayOff positions of the Gardiner sides.
With the destination of the Gardiner Conference title being Braehead or Dundee, Fife Flyers are ending the season in the best PlayOff position of the Scottish sides. With Nottingham Panthers having secured the Elite League title last week after beating Belfast Giants on their own patch, the Playoffs are the Flyers last chance of grabbing some silverware in what has been an up and down season for the Kirkcaldy club.
Assistant Coach Danny Stewart too some time to talk to STV abut how the Conference system has been received in its debut season and what the focus for the Flyers is going in to their last regulation season game this weekend, as well as their PlayOff hopes.
"I thought the conference system was a good idea when they implemented it last summer," says the experienced forward, "I don't think anybody could have predicted it would be this successful".
"The conference standings, especially the Gardiner, have been so tight. I think last season there was close to a 35 point gap between between 6th-7th place and to compare that to now its obvious it has worked."
"I also think some of the credit has to go to the so called "smaller" clubs in the fact that each team improved dramatically in the calibre of players they brought in, the depth they have, and definitely the goaltending which has helped everyone be more competitive."
"It's exceeded my expectations!"
With the Conference being so closely fought, with positions in the division changing on a weekly basis, the close proximity of the sides involved, bar Hull, have created more I tense rivalries, which Stewart feels has benefitted the players and the fans.
"There has always been the rivalries between clubs but due to the conference system, and putting that added importance on games, there has been much more to play for. "
"The fans definitely play their part with intensifying the rivalries, as the away travel has been great from all local clubs and increased the atmosphere in most buildings."
In their own barn, the Flyers have had a pretty good term, having been. Beaten there for a good chunk of the early part of the season, scoring some decent wins over the EIHL's bigger teams in the process. These performances have been key in Stewart's eyes for the success of the Flyers second season in the Elite League set up.
"I think the high point of our season so far has been our home form and being able to turn over some of the big clubs and beating everybody except Nottingham. We have made it a tough place to play in for away teams and that is essential to success."
"Last weekend against Edinburgh were highlights as well solely because of how well we played in those two games that were "must win" games."
Where the home for, has been their bedrock, the Flyers away for,particularly since the turn of the year, has perhaps hindered their season, costing them Gardiner glory.
"On the flip side I think our away results have hurt us big time. We have played many good games on the road but have just found ways to lose games. I think we had a stretch in the first couple months where we lost four or five games in the last five minutes, two of those in the last minute, which may have been a big factor on our confidence playing on the road."
While Braehead Clan have the opportunity to win the Conference in Fife on Saturday night if they beat Dundee Stars on Friday, Stewart and his team mates have their own agenda and will be looking to spoil the party while focussing on finishing their own season as best they can. A last eight game against the Panthers or the Giants may await depending on their standing after Saturday night,
"Being realistic, if we can win on Saturday and get that 7th spot I believe we have a great chance to progress to the Play Off Quarter Finals. If we get an 8th seed, or face a Belfast or Nottingham then we need to really up our game. They are fantastic teams but by no means unbeatable!"
"To be honest though I along with our squad are not looking anywhere past Saturday night against Braehead, as a win there would put us in the best position possible going forward. Whatever happens such as placement or who we play is out of our control so that's what we must focus on."
"We are a very motivated team right now. We proved that last weekend but need to continue and find that consistency heading into playoffs. Our goal is to beat Braehead to put ourselves in the best position possible. We can't win the conference now so to me it doesn't matter who wins it."
"Our main concern is just beating Braehead to ensure we definitely advance to the playoffs."
A home win for Danny Stewart's side on Saturday could see them safely in to those quarter finals and would also see the title fight reach fever pitch as if Dundee Stars get a in over Braehead tonight (Friday) they could win the Conference with a regulation time win at home to Edinburgh at the same time as Flyers v Clan. If Braehead get the W in 60 tonight but lose to Fife on Saturday, the Stars earning a Saturday win, Sami Ryhanen and co can win the the Conference at Murrayfield on Sunday with a victory. However, two Braehead wins in regulation would see the title go to the Clan, even if Dundee win both games against Edinburgh, based on having had more was in regulation time.
These games will also have Play Off position permutations, meaning that every side will be going at it to earn those extra games. For some, their season will end this weekend, for others, they have a further shot at glory in the coming weeks, but each side in the Gardiner has put up a great fight in an entertaining first ever Conference set up, ensuring a nail biting end to the season.
Myself (@krisjack85) and Andy Alston (@andyalstonf1) will be live tweeting from Braehead Clan v Dundee Stars tonight and Fife Flyers v Braehead Clan tomorrow night, to keep you enthralled with every pass of the puck as the Gardiner Conference reaches its destination.
Fixtures:
Fri, Mar 22, 2013 7:30 pm GMT Dundee at Braehead 7:30 pm GMT
Sat, Mar 23, 2013 7:00 pm GMT Edinburgh at Dundee 7:00 pm GMT
Sat, Mar 23, 2013 7:15 pm GMT Braehead at Fife 7:15 pm GMT
Sun, Mar 24, 2013 6:00 pm GMT Dundee at Edinburgh 6:00 pm GMT
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