Playoff Double Overtime and more Frankenstein-ness...

In some sports, .500 is considered truly great-it's still better than Hull's record...Two out of four in my playoff predictions isn't too bad, even if one of them is a "safe" pick in putting Coventry through. What did stand out this weekend, looking at the scores, is just how close 1st to 8th in the league were, with three quarter-finals being settled by a single aggregate goal (Newcastle v Belfast only by a penalty shootout) and Coventry going through against Edinburgh by virtue of two single-goal wins, including one in an absolutely storming game at the Skydome last night which was well worthy of the occasion.
Notable facts from the weekend...

This will be only the second playoff finals at the NIC at which the Panthers will not appear, thanks to their loss to the Cardiff Devils.
Cardiff are now the only team to have made every single EIHL playoff weekend.
Edinburgh, Hull and Basingstoke are still the only three teams never to have made an EIHL final weekend, although Hull are the only team never to have made even the quarter finals.
Jason Stone, Neil Francis, Gerard Adams and Dion Darling are the only four players to have made every EIHL playoff weekend-Stone and Francis with the Devils and Adams and Darling with the Devils and Steelers.

Moment of the weekend from the games that I saw was a full-on war of a fight between Adam Calder and Martin Cingel, with the Capital landing the first punch but Calder throwing a few absolute bombs to win the scrap.

So, the playoff semis are set...Coventry face Newcastle and Sheffield face Cardiff-a full preview of the weekend will of course follow later in the week, but at the moment, and based on their respective records this season, could you pick a winner from that bunch?

Frankenhockey II: Nettie's Revenge: After my playing Frankenstein with the EIHL on Friday, Adam in Manchester (he of the epic statistical analysis of my points system and a regular correspondent) asked me two questions-the first one being why I hadn't picked Brett Clouthier as the frame to put everything in rather than Brad Cruikshank. This was one of those moments where you read it and go "oh, (insert rude word here), how did I miss him?"-I'm thus taking a mulligan on the body and transplanting all the abilities from Cruikshank to Clouthier-just because it's my blog and I can. However, since I'm a big fan of the Basingstoke captain's gritty style of play, I'm still trying to work out a way to get him in there somewhere-if there was a "second Frankenhockey team", then a part of him would be on it as backup to the monster we've already created...
The second question Adam asks is "where's the Frankengoalie?" which is such a great idea I've just got to do it now...the criteria will be slightly different and perhaps much more subjective, but so be it...meet the most terrifying thing that ever graced a goalie crease (with the possible exception of Jody Lehman's Fanta-orange pads of a season ago)...

Mask: And so we begin with the most subjective (and purely visual) part-the helmet. This year has been a bit of a poor one for paint-related hi-jinks, with several goalies going with the boring "plain-white". However, there's still been a few gaudy masks out there-in the end it comes down to a straight choice between the big-cat themes of Phil Osaer and Curtis Cruickshank and the sentimental family-ness of Tom Askey. Given that the Devils goalie has somehow managed to combine a leaping panther, a US road sign and palm-trees on his mask and not have it turn into a complete disaster, he should win...although I have a personal preference for Askey's just because I'm amazed that someone would consider painting a picture of your family on something which regularly has objects fired at it at great speed a demonstration of your love for them. But fair play to him nevertheless for doing something a little different...

Head: This is a curious one, as all goalies in the EIHL have at times this season appeared to have been rattled by players either scoring on them or having the odd dig. If Trevor Koenig didn't react like a hysterical mourner at an Arab funeral every time someone made the slightest contact with him, then perhaps he'd lead this one simply through consistency. However, we take Askey's head to fit inside his own mask simply for the way his calmness at the back after the histrionics of Rastislav Rovnianek earlier in the season has had such an effect on the Panthers defence.

Glove: If Jody Lehman could stop anything fired above his waist on the glove-side, then maybe he'd take this one. Since he appears to have a problem doing that, though...this one goes to Phil Osaer, although Askey, Koenig and Ryan MacDonald all run him close...

Pads: Tricky one, this, as every EIHL goalie can give up some horrific rebounds-Scott Fankhouser in particular stood out early in the season as every pad save he made at the Skydome seemed to go straight back out in front and miss a Blaze forward's stick by inches-although he's improved as the season's gone on and it's become less noticeable. Trevor Koenig seems to be pretty adept at getting a pad on a shot without it ricocheting straight back out in front, as does Tom Askey, but the Vipers take this one-if he's on his game Ryan Macdonald seems to almost will his pads onto the puck, and can drop ridiculously quickly to shut his five-hole when needed. The main problem for the Vipers is that, too often, his head seems to wander.

Blocker: It's the usual suspects again-Askey, Koenig, MacDonald, Osaer, Cruickshank. If I had to pick this one it would probably be Koenig, but the EIHL is all much of a muchness on the stick-side, so any one of those five could get in there...

Stick: Puck-moving wise, it's either Koenig or Lehman...I would probably take Jody over Trevor simply because he's scored in the EIHL

Disclaimer: I freely admit that, when it comes to goalies, I'm not the greatest in assessing ability, although I do have the theory that Ryan MacDonald could be a superb goalie in this league now he's had a season...

That's your review for Monday...tomorrow we'll round up the rumours already flying around the league and perhaps have some more Frankenfun...keep keeping your eye on the puck...