After retaining the Challenge Cup by beating the Fife Flyers 9-3 in the final at the beginning of March, the Belfast Giants managed to clinch their third-straight EIHL regular season title on 1 April. Can they claim all 3 titles by winning the playoffs as well?
The other 7 teams to qualify for the quarterfinals are Guildford Flames, Sheffield Steelers, Cardiff Devils, Coventry Blaze, Manchester Storm, Nottingham Panthers, and Glasgow Clan. The Clan just pipped their fellow Scots Fife Flyers to the final place on the last day of the season. Dundee Stars also sadly missed out.
In the quarterfinals of the playoffs, the teams ranked 1-8 at the conclusion of the EIHL regular season play in a 2-leg, aggregate score series of games, with the series overall winner progressing further in the competition. The final league standings at the conclusion of the regular season will be used to determine seedings for the playoffs. For the playoffs, the winners of the Elite League will be seeded first, the runners-up will be seeded second, and so on down to number 8. The first seed will play the eighth seed, the second seed will play the seventh seed, the third seed will play the sixth seed, and the fourth seed will play the fifth seed.
The fixtures for the quarterfinals are:
- Manchester Storm v Sheffield Steelers (19:30 on 7 April, Altrincham Ice Dome)
- Sheffield Steelers v Manchester Storm (19:00 on 8 April, Utilita Arena Sheffield)
- Coventry Blaze v Cardiff Devils (19:00 on 8 April, Coventry Skydome)
- Belfast Giants v Glasgow Clan (19:00 on 8 April, SSE Arena Belfast)
- Nottingham Panthers v Guildford Flames (19:00 on 8 April, National Ice Centre)
- Cardiff Devils v Coventry Blaze (18:00 on 9 April, Ice Arena Wales)
- Glasgow Clan v Belfast Giants (18:00 on 9 April, Braehead Arena)
- Guildford Flames v Nottingham Panthers (18:00 on 9 April, Guildford Spectrum)
The 4 winning teams over the 2-legged quarterfinals will qualify for the semifinals which – along with the final – are part of the EIHL Playoff Finals Weekend on 15-16 April at the National Ice Centre, Nottingham. The semifinals will take place on 15 April and the 3rd place match and final take place on 16 April. Tickets are sold as 2-day passes starting at £114 (including fees) for adult admission.