Fife Flyers’ Elimination Tie: what is it, and why will it have a different format?
Fife Flyers will enter new territory when they take part in the Challenge Cup’s elimination tie.
The club completed its qualifying games in second spot, behind Belfast Giants, to move to the next stage - but the semi-finals are still one step away.
The competition’s structure, with one group of four and one of six, created an imbalance in the number of games teams play - Group A competed over ten games, while Group B, which featured Flyers and the either Scottish sides, had 12.
The section winners - Sheffield Steelers and Belfast Giants - automatically advanced to the semi-finals - along with Cardiff Devils, runners-up in Group A.
That left one spot open which is the prize on offer in the head to head between Flyers and Guildford Flames, who finished third in Group A.
And those games will also be the first this season which won’t be determined by a penalty shoot out either.
At the start of this season, the Elite League’s board decided to scrap the three on three finale and shoot outs for all elimination games - including the Challenge Cup semi-finals, play-off quarter finals and semis - and create a new format. In any games which end in deadlock, the teams will first play a full 20-minute period of five on five sudden-death overtime after a full intermission.
If no winner is found, they will have a break and play continuous periods of three on three sudden death overtime until the winning goal is scored.
Launching the changes, Liam Sewell, head of hockey operations, said: “The overwhelming feeling among the board and hockey operations was that places in finals, or at the play-off finals weekend, should not be decided by a shootout.
“We wanted the players to decide who wins these games during overtime, and this format allows that to happen. In some cases, we have to be mindful that teams may need to play again the following day or only a few days later.
“Moving to three on three from the second overtime period, if required, keeps shootouts out of elimination games while increasing the likelihood of a winning goal being scored.”