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.

It’s that time of the year again. Normally at this time of the day at this time of the year I am sitting in a bar somewhere in Nottingham drinking back the 10th beer of the day, talking about the two games I had just seen and maybe even celebrating a win in the Grand National. For a lot of people nothing has changed this year but for me this is the first time since 2001 that I have missed the final-four playoffs weekend.

Still, the weekend goes on as normal and by normal I mean very normal in that the Giants aren’t even there so nothing has changed other than me not being there. Anyhow, here is how the semi-final games went this weekend.

Sheffield Steelers 5 v 2 Cardiff Devils

Coventry Blaze 2 v 6 Nottingham Panthers

So Sheffield play Nottingham in a crunch match final tomorrow. I’ll bring the result then.

The Belfast Giants have only ever been to the final four dance three times in their nine year history and on one occasion they won the thing. But on six occasions they have failed to get out of the qualifying group or knockout game or whatever the format has been over the various seasons of falling short.

On five of the six occasions (you have to exclude their inaugural season) they were one of the favorites to make the final four but always found a way to blow it. This year it was against Cardiff a team who finished well behind the Giants in points during the regular season but come the crunch games could pull it together. If this kind of post-season form carries on for much longer, it won’t be long before fans start uttering the word ‘curse’.

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The Sheffield Steelers are the 2008 Playoff Champions. Dave Matsos, an ex-Giant, is a playoff winning coach after winning the trophy as a player for the Giants back in 2003. The weekend was a beer filled, hocked packed hoot as per usual and maybe once I have fully recovered, counted the losses financially and tried to remember as much as I can I will write some kind of story about Nottingham Playoff weekend 2008.

As for now . . . Well done Sheffield.

Anyone with half a brain is surely not in favor of the current concept of the British playoff system. I haven’t had the chance to talk to any players about this though I hope that over the playoff weekend that maybe that chance will arise. Ok not the Giants players but there are four other teams there. It would be interesting to see what they thought but as for the fans, I have talked to them and almost the absolute majority does not like what they see.

For anyone not totally aware the British playoffs work in the following way: Read More»