CE HOCKEY: Giants pounce to go top
Belfast capitalised on Nottingham's slip-up to take sole possession of top spot in the bmibaby Elite League.
A sudden death penalty shot was enough for the Giants to edge a 4-3 victory at Cardiff Devils, while the Panthers went down 6-3 at Sheffield Steelers who got two goals from Robert Dowd.
Manchester saw off Basingstoke in the other game, while there were Challenge Cup wins for Newcastle and Coventry.
Results
| Sunday, October 12 | | | |
| bmibaby Elite League | | | |
| Cardiff | 3-4 | Belfast | SO |
| Sheffield | 6-3 | Nottingham | |
| Manchester | 5-2 | Basingstoke | |
| Challenge Cup Group A | | | |
| Newcastle | 5-4 | Edinburgh | |
| Challenge Cup Group B | | | |
| Coventry | 7-3 | Hull | |
Fixtures | Thursday, October 16 | | | |
| Challenge Cup Group A | | | |
| Manchester | v | Edinburgh | 1915 |
| Friday, October 17 | | | |
| bmibaby Elite League | | | |
| Belfast | v | Coventry | 1900 |
| Saturday, October 18 | | | |
| bmibaby Elite League | | | |
| Basingstoke | v | Hull | 1830 |
| Nottingham | v | Manchester | 1900 |
| Sheffield | v | Cardiff | 1900 |
Fixtures | Saturday, October 18 | | | |
| Challenge Cup Group A | | | |
| Belfast | v | Newcastle | 1900 |
| Sunday, October 19 | | | |
| bmibaby Elite League | | | |
| Cardiff | v | Nottingham | 1800 |
| Edinburgh | v | Manchester | 1800 |
| Hull | v | Basingstoke | 1800 |
| Newcastle | v | Sheffield | 1730 |
Elite League table | | P | W | L | OL | PSL | F | A Pts |
| Belfast | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 23 20 |
| Nottingham | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 34 18 |
| Coventry | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 23 14 |
| Sheffield | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 21 13 |
| Manchester | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 24 13 |
| Newcastle | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 37 11 |
| Cardiff | 10 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 30 8 |
| Edinburgh | 10 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 49 6 |
| Hull | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 45 4 |
| B'ingstoke | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 68 2 |