THE inclusion of Scottish-based Braeside Clan means the new nine-team Elite League will have changed formats for the regular season and play-offs for 2010-11.

And with the bottom three sides being dropped from post-season play, that can only be good for the fans as teams battle to the finish in those top six spots.

All teams will be playing three home games and three away against their rivals in the 48-game regular season, starting on the weekend of September 4/5. The final weekend will be March 12/13.

The top six teams will qualify for the play-offs but even then there will be an incentive to finish in the league's leading three.

The play-offs will be played over a round-robin league format, with each team playing once against the other five.

But the top three from the regular season will have the advantage of playing three home games and two away, with the bottom three having two at home and three away.

The top four will qualify for finals weekend on April 2/3.

League chairman, Eamon Convery, said: "We are very excited by the new format.

"The addition of Braehead is great for the sport and I am sure supporters will be thrilled with the changes we've made."

As Nottingham Panthers prepare to take on Sheffield Steelers tonight in front of another big 6,000 crowd at the National Ice Centre, other teams around the country can only dream of such huge gates.

Edinburgh, Newcastle and Hull, in particular, struggle to get attendances beyond the 1,000 mark, even when boosted by travelling fans.

So news that Panthers chief Neil Black is heading up an off-ice team to run new club Braehead, based on the successful Nottingham business model, is good for all teams.

The Scottish game certainly needs a shot in the arm with Edinburgh failing miserably to bring in the crowds at the Murrayfield rink.

And the geographical position of the impressive Braeside arena – which can hold around 3,900 fans for hockey games – near Glasgow and Paisley, is an advantage.

And, hopefully, the increased interest in the north will also bring about a resurgence of the Newcastle Vipers, who will always suffer an identity crisis while playing at Whitley Bay.

Without doubt, Panthers business model has proved to be a winner – never more so than this season when it seems that more new fans than ever have been coming to watch.

It has been said that Nottingham has always been a hot-bed of ice hockey but it has to be remembered, Panthers didn't play for 20 years between 1960 and 1980.

And, without putting too fine a point on it, many of those avid supporters from the 1950s are no longer with us.

During the time when Panthers heroes like Zamick and Strongman were just a distant memory, hockey in Scotland and the North-east carried on.

Those areas were once the true hot-beds of the British game, but have been left behind in recent years.

Let's hope Braehead can kick-start a revival.