Joseph Pierce delivered a 99-point fantasy haul, Fife hit double figures and Hard to Yandle held firm at the top: Gameweek 5 gave the opening five-gameweek period an eventful finish. With all 12 listed fixtures complete, Hard to Yandle leads the five-week standings on 2,149.1 points, 127.8 clear of a new nearest challenger, Shooting Stars Watch Us Fly.
🏒 Fife hit ten as Sheffield bounce back
Fife Flyers supplied the scoreline of the week, beating Guildford Flames 10–2. Joseph Pierce and Xander Lamppa both scored hat-tricks, with all three of Lamppa’s goals coming on the power play. Fife scored six power-play goals in total. It was an explosive centrepiece to a mixed week: the Flyers also lost 3–1 to Coventry and 3–2 at Nottingham.
Sheffield answered the previous gameweek’s two overtime defeats against Fife with victories over Glasgow and Manchester. A 5–0 shutout of the Clan was followed by a 4–3 away win, with Ryan Tait scoring the deciding goal at 58:11. Cardiff also won twice, shutting out Dundee 3–0 before beating Belfast 5–2, while Coventry finished with an 8–2 victory over the Stars.
There was late drama on Wednesday, too. Manchester recovered from 3–1 down in Dundee and won 4–3 through Tim McGauley at 64:56. Nottingham then edged Storm 2–1 in a shootout on Saturday. Guildford responded to that heavy defeat in Fife by winning 6–2 at Glasgow.
| Date | Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Oct | Dundee Stars | 3–4 (OT) | Manchester Storm |
| 7 Oct | Fife Flyers | 1–3 | Coventry Blaze |
| 10 Oct | Cardiff Devils | 3–0 | Dundee Stars |
| 10 Oct | Coventry Blaze | 0–1 | Belfast Giants |
| 10 Oct | Sheffield Steelers | 5–0 | Glasgow Clan |
| 10 Oct | Fife Flyers | 10–2 | Guildford Flames |
| 10 Oct | Manchester Storm | 1–2 (SO) | Nottingham Panthers |
| 11 Oct | Manchester Storm | 3–4 | Sheffield Steelers |
| 11 Oct | Nottingham Panthers | 3–2 | Fife Flyers |
| 11 Oct | Glasgow Clan | 2–6 | Guildford Flames |
| 11 Oct | Cardiff Devils | 5–2 | Belfast Giants |
| 11 Oct | Coventry Blaze | 8–2 | Dundee Stars |
⭐ Pierce sets the pace
Pierce’s four goals and two assists across the gameweek produced six hockey points and a table-topping 99 FHL fantasy points. Lamppa added three goals and two assists for 64.5 fantasy points, while Victor Bjorkung’s goal and three assists returned 62. Fife’s attacking burst made a major mark on the weekly player rankings.
Matthew Greenfield led the goaltenders with 68.7 fantasy points from two wins, 52 saves and a shutout. Jake Kupsky’s 32-save shutout in Belfast’s 1–0 win at Coventry brought 48.2. Among the other leading returns, Drydn Dow scored 56, Tim Gettinger’s four goals helped him to 54.5, and Brandon Cutler returned 51.5. Josh MacDonald contributed three goals and an assist for 49.
That followed a Gameweek 4 led by Christian Stoever on 69.3, with old macdonalds farm taking the fantasy team honours on 419. This time Edmonton Overseas topped the weekly table with 598.9, ahead of The Backdoor Beauties on 589.1 and Light the Lamppa on 586.3.
🏆 The first five-gameweek period
Hard to Yandle scored 543 this week, sixth in the weekly rankings, to protect first place across the opening period. Behind the leader, Shooting Stars Watch Us Fly’s 584.8 lifted them from 11th to second. Jasper the friendly Ghost climbed from eighth to third, while Light the Lamppa made a striking 30-place jump from 35th to fifth. Ballycastle Puffins slipped from second to fourth.
| Position | Team | FHL points | Previous position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hard to Yandle | 2,149.1 | 1 |
| 2 | Shooting Stars Watch Us Fly | 2,021.3 | 11 |
| 3 | Jasper the friendly Ghost | 1,945.1 | 8 |
| 4 | Ballycastle Puffins | 1,926.8 | 2 |
| 5 | Light the Lamppa | 1,915.8 | 35 |
📈 Five weeks of form
Among players with records in all five weekly reports, Greenfield leads on 205.6 fantasy points, averaging 41.12 per gameweek. His opening-period figures include seven wins, 261 saves and two shutouts. Bjorkung follows on 194, an average of 38.8, with four goals and nine assists.
Mike Lee has 180, followed by Mitchell Balmas on 179.5 and JJ Piccinich on 179. Their respective gameweek averages are 36, 35.9 and 35.8. Pierce’s surge takes him to 177.5: 99 of those points arrived in this gameweek alone. These comparisons use complete five-week records; missing weekly entries have not been treated as zero.
The opening period closes its fixture programme with Hard to Yandle still setting the team benchmark and a reshuffled chasing pack. Light the Lamppa’s climb is the clearest reminder of how much one productive gameweek can change the table.
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