Panthers' love affair with cup

SINCE the team's re-formation in 1980 – 30 years ago next September – Nottingham Panthers have enjoyed something of a love affair with the league's premier cup competition in its various guises.

Known generically as the 'Autumn Cup', but under numerous sponsorship banners, Panthers celebrated their first victory in 1986 and have won it six times since. Their first trophy triumph in the modern era was the Norwich Union Cup during the 1986-87 season in the ten-team Heineken League.

In a season dominated by the four Scottish teams – Murrayfield (now Edinburgh), Dundee, Fife and Ayr – Panthers broke the mould by beating Fife in memorable sudden-death overtime at Birmingham's NEC.

It was perhaps fitting that Layton Eratt, one of the players who helped re-form the team six years earlier, got the match-winner.

With the inception of the Elite League in 2003-04, the competition has been known as the Challenge Cup and if Panthers defeat Cardiff tonight, they will have won it three times – a league record.

Their two previous wins were against bitter rivals Sheffield, while tonight's rivals Cardiff have won it once, beating Coventry over two legs in 2005-06.

A warning for Panthers is that, on that occasion, the Devils trailed Coventry by three goals from the first leg, but hit back to force overtime in the return game and won on penalty shots.

It's never over, until it's over...