The Belfast Giants are into the final throws of the 2010/11 Elite League seasons and it has reached desperation stages. Actually, it has reached that horrible stage were you now desperately require the opposition to drop points in order for you to win the championship. One look at the league table and there is reason to be optimistic that it could happen. Both Belfast and Sheffield have three games remaining and the Giants trail by just the one point, but flick up the fixture list and the pessimism quickly begins to set in.

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It’s been a seven year wait for the hundreds of Giants fans that take themselves to Nottingham year-in-year-out looking for their team to deliver the goods, but at long last and for the first time since 2003 the Belfast Giants can call themselves Elite League Playoff Champions again. I wasn’t there this year, but if 2003 taught me anything it is that when the Giants win this trophy the weekend becomes one of the biggest and best parties of the year and no doubt it was great times in Nottingham again last night and this morning plenty of sore heads. The Giants turned around a poor first two periods of play while throwing away a two goal lead to put in a fine effort in the third, a strong overtime and then a tight and tense shootout to win it. A playoff final should never ever be decided by the way of a shootout, but that’s how it is in Britain, and while I don’t agree with it, in this case, I’ll gladly deal with it and revel in the moment that my team are the Champions again, even though I never got to see them in person this year.

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Starting now, for the first time ever, is live TV coverage of the EIHL playoff final and it’s between two non-English sides, the Belfast Giants and Cardiff Devils. I’m off to retrieve one of my chilled beers and ready to enjoy the big game. I wish I was there and if I was I would doubtlessly be drunk, but if you can’t be there, getting to see it live on TV is the next best option and I’m glad Sky Sports have come through. This is the Giants second ever playoff final with their previous one being in 2003 when they beat the London Knights.

The show has just started and one of the analysits is Steelers coach and ex-Giant Dave Matsos. The year the Giants won the trophy in ’03 he scored one of the goals.

Enjoy.

Brilliant news folks. Big bad Coventry Blaze were stuffed 6-3 by Cardiff Devils in the first semi-final of the EIHL playoffs meaning that their dreams of a league and playoff double are over and meaning that if the Giants can beat Nottingham this evening it’ll be the first playoff final that doesn’t feature an English team. Wouldn’t that be nice?

So far it’s been a wonderful weekend of sport for a Giants and Liverpool fan. United lost to Chelsea, Spurs lost to Sunderland and Coventry are out of the playoffs. And that is a very nice set of welcome gifts upon my return to Belfast for my first visit in fifteen months and a nice consolation for not being able to make the playoff final weekend for the second time in a row now.

The Giants were in Dundonald tonight trying to overturn a 5-2 defect to the Cardiff Devils from the first leg of their Challenge Cup Semi-Final and looking to return to the final of the competition for the second year in a row and defend the trophy they won last year. Knowing they had given the Devils a three goal lead from the first leg they had to go attacking from the start, not that such a tactic is unusual to the Giants who are known as an offense first club, but tonight the result had to be good. Enforcer Sean McMorrow was scratched from the line-up in return for speed and scoring power through the roster but if post game reports from fans are to be believe, player-coach Steve Thornton only rolled two forward lines anyway and the team didn’t have the legs to claw back the tie and win it.

Dropping behind inside the first three minutes would never help but three goals in the following thirty minutes of play put the score at 6-5 overall and giving the fans that had showed up to the old barn a bit of hope. Hopes were dashed though either side of the second intermission when a power play goal followed by a short handed goal just seconds into the third frame for the Devils put the tie beyond reach.

The Giants didn’t give up however, two Colin Shield’s goals in the final five minutes again pulled the tie within one with the Giants leading 5-3 on the night, but it wasn’t to be and time ran out on their hopes of retaining the trophy.