Preview: 2026 EIHL Playoff Finals Weekend

The season finale is almost upon us and what a year it has been.

There will be 3 separate domestic cup champions after Giants retained the league, Panthers secured the Challenge Cup not* on home ice, in the same season they also took ownership of an extravagant tea tray*.

There are two new (ish) finalists at the exception of two big scalps. Both wear purple, a bruise on the EIHL towers’ ego, no doubt.

A first time ever for one, who will bring all manners of pluckiness for their opponents to weather.

Another, their first foray in quite some time, but a first under their new (ish) branded monicker, one that has certainly brought their city together, to clash with their Celtic cousins.

The favourites have punched their tickets with relative ease, facing off against opponents they statistically and characteristically had no concerns with.

The better teams got the business done.

For one, they face-off in an newly positioned age old rivalry, the one that brings the tribes from either side of the pennines together, a war of the roses if you will. For the record, as the red rose was a Tudor rose, I have to back the Yr Hen Ogledd, so to speak.

It is mouth watering to think of the potential turns, spills, tantrums and rollercoaster of emotions.

Each team deservedly earned their place.

This is the 2026 EIHL Playoff Finals.

Glasgow Clan

Season Record; 24-21-9, 8th Place, 57pts

Challenge Cup; 8-4-0, 2nd Place, Knocked Out via 1/4F leg vs Panthers

Clan had one of the hardest draws after finishing 8th overall, level on points behind Blaze, with one regulation plus over time win, less.

They had to face-off against the champions, in a season that was wrought through ups, downs, controversy and contrition.

They managed to play their way through to the bitter end, despite the noise and clamour, an interim coach at the helm, decisions on which goalie to use or cast aside and a final hurdle to clear.

A gigantic one at that.

It has been 12 years since the organisation booked their place in the finals weekend. When they were known as Braehead Clan. They were still known as such for one of the finalists’ first ever playoff triumph in 2018.

A lot has changed since those times.

The hope, the optimism and ambition for the Glasgow club however, has never diminished.

They have been lambasted (even by yours truly) of over playing their optimism. Yet, here they are, against all odds.

The quarter finals were initially set on a knife edge, waiting for the first to fall. Each just about separated by a single goal. In this tie, they needed a shootout to determine who goes through, with Aittokallio providing the heroics with the hottest of gloves to send his club forth into a playoff weekend berth.

It was majestic.

Clan are majestic.

They are poised to be more than just giant slayers. They have the momentum to seal off the pit of hell if they carry that forward into Saturday afternoon.

A team, they have had a split season with.

3 wins, 3 losses.

Split across the two halves of the Clan campaign this season.

For one team it is destiny.

For another, it is pride.

Cardiff Devils

Season Record; 35-14-5, 2nd Place, 75pts

Challenge Cup; 6-4-0, 4th Place, Eliminated Group Stage

Devils head into the playoff finals as a top seed for the first time since pre-covid, yet face a team that have nothing to lose. For the Welsh club, there is an expectation to make the grand final again.

Even to claim the title.

There is a lot of pride at stake, for some, a last chance to show their worth and for others, a last roll of the dice to claim a title with their club before the off-season chaos begins.

They have had an entertaining season, mired by collapses in form, consistency and off-ice decisions that have shaped their fanbases’ opinions and interests.

This is also an end to what has been a good rodeo for their experienced coach, Paul Thompson, who seemed to have become fed up of his players’ attitudes just as the regular season was coming to a close.

Leading into this weekend, his team have become the gold standard, including goal tending, with rookie back up Christian Stoever stealing the spotlight, whilst back stopping his team to 2nd and into the finals.

That is where the battle will be won and lost.

Both teams have a shrewd defensive structure, for Clan, improved once their former coach departed. Both teams have playmakers, as well as play drivers.

Both teams have blue liners to chip in offensively.

Both teams have passionate fan bases.

This should for all intents and purposes, be the final itself.

It will be loud, vibrant and boisterous. It will be tightly checked, in your face hockey at times. But when the goals go in, it should get loose enough to bring about all manners of chaos.

Managed well by the men in stripes, this should be an exciting clash that would market the league and its sponsors well.

My Prediction; Devils to progress

Manchester Storm

Season Record; 26-19-9 6th Place, 61pts

Challenge Cup; 3-5-2, 5th Place, Eliminated Group Stage

One of the biggest misnomers of the season, was once again, the underrated Manchester Storm.

Nearly every outlet, including the EIHLs’ own survey had this team at 10th, let alone making the playoffs.

Once again, everybody slept on the Storm.

Their regular season was one of defiance and attrition.

They held 5th with a zealous grip, as if Gollum himself declared that position as precious.

They were either 9 points from 4th and looked likely to pounce and leap frog whoever found themselves there in a matter of weeks. Or, they were 9 points from dropping to 8th, if they dared to slip up in regulation.

They held this position until the final dance of the season, eventually over taken by an in form Flames team, who also had a chance at writing their own story in the annals of the EIHL folklore, but that wasn’t to be and it will have to be written at a later stage.

Finishing 6th is by no means an ugly end to their season. They gave it a good go, with a roster that arguably had one of the least in terms of expectations for their Brits and an underwhelming ‘core’ of imports on paper.

Like the Blaze, they lost their big guns, but managed to find some gems. Gary Haden, Drew DeRidder and Brady Gilmour along with Nick Welsh became a force of their own.

I would expect to see some of those names as category nominees or even winners for the end of season EIHL awards.

Their season ended up being such due to how they are set up. Difficult, rugged and persistent. To the final buzzer, no matter when it sounds.

They had 19 regular season games going to OT/SO. 10 of which were winners, which was how they booked their place to join the Clan and the others.

Typically Storm in terms of process.

The only team you could bet on being a playoff ready group going into this weekend.

Like many others, if only the playoffs were real, not ceremonial by name only.

Sheffield Steelers

Season Record; 3-15-6, 4th Place, 72pts

Challenge Cup; 7-2-1, 1st Place, Eliminated Semi Final

Steelers ended their season on a high, despite the overwhelming feeling of under achievement.

They were only 3 points from 2nd overall in the league and got knocked out of the cup in the semi finals by the eventual winners and current playoff holders, Panthers.

A season that wasn’t to be, yet here they are, taking their chances with who is in front of them and punching their ticket with ease.

The first leg was similar to the others, a draw in their case, distinguished by an altercation that tilted the series in their favour on home ice.

That is a boost for their mentality as a team.

Despite the noise surrounding the periphery of who stays and who goes when the season is done entirely, they honed in their focus and got themselves to another finals weekend.

They have experience in the group, from Greenfield to Dowd, ingredients that should help the locker room and bench when needed.

Even if highly regarded players might be rumoured to depart, those players have had success with this club and on this stage. They face one of the most unpredictable wild card opponents, who would be taking in the occasion.

If they slip up now, then the curtain would rightly fall. Somehow, with that experience locked within the group, I do not see them falling this short.

My Prediction; Steelers to progress

If you need a build up to the weekend with some predictions, here is the link to the latest episode for EIHL Face-Off Podcast; https://x.com/EIHLFaceOff/status/2043947361970393322?s=20

Want to have a look at who made the biggest impacts this season and which players are projected to pick up some accolades? Look no further than the Impact Player Guide; https://hockeysteve.co.uk/2026/04/10/hockeysteve-eihl-impact-guide/