Icing on the cake

Ice one! Action from the Play-Off weekend (picture: Mark Fuller)

When I'm thinking of ways to spend my weekend off, watching British ice hockey would usually rank pretty low. However, the girlfriend had plans, my football team were playing the local thugs and the lads were skint, so a trip to Nottingham seemed relatively appealing.

After some befuddled looks from friends, I started to wonder if I had made the right decision.

Being fairly open-minded I travelled to the National Arena in Nottingham ready to meet whatever was thrown at me. I arrived in the city, laptop in hand, ready for my weekend of covering the Elite League Play-Off Finals for skysports.com.

As I approached the arena the streets were a rainbow of Ice Hockey jersey colour and I gradually started to realise that this is a big deal for a lot of people.

From New York Rangers to Telford Tigers, these spectators were sporting the lot. The entrance to the arena was a staggering sight. Beer flowing, burgers sizzling and everyone clearly excited about the action ahead.

Eager to find my seat, I collected my press pass and wrestled through the crowds before taking my perch six rows up from the ice and just one row in front of the players' wives and girlfriends. Marvellous!

Financial concerns

As well as the fabulous sights, the roar of the crowd was electric. An arena is a guaranteed winner if you want atmosphere. The ice looked in top condition, and the players, as wide as they are tall, began their warm-up routines. It was then that I thought this might not be a bad weekend after all...

I was aware heading to the event that British Ice Hockey is in desperate need of a cash-injection.

Indeed Basingstoke Bison, who ended the 2008-09 season rock-bottom and with a record 27-game losing streak to their name, announced that due to serious cash-flow problems they were to drop out of the Elite League and compete in the English Premier League next season.

That now leaves British Ice Hockey's top league with just nine teams, and in the week leading up to the Play-Offs more news surfaced of the financial concerns of several clubs, casting a dark cloud over the weekend.

Looking around the sold-out arena I just couldn't see how this was possible. After the event it was revealed that a total of 21,000 tickets had been sold for the three matches over two days, which hardly screams of a sport in trouble.

On the rink, league champions Sheffield Steelers were given a brief scare before their class shone through with a 5-2 win in the opening semi-final against Cardiff Devils.

One thing that struck me at the end of this game was how the players get so fired up but are able to quickly lose their emotions when it's all over. In the final minutes of the third period, Devils captain Brad Voth and Steelers defenceman Scott Basiuk were in a heated argument as they were sent to the sin bin. Once the game was over, they both lined up with the rest of their team-mates to shake hands in a show of respect.

Then it was left to Nottingham Panthers, my adopted team for the day, to step up and beat Coventry Blaze to set-up the final everyone - Blaze fans excluded - wanted.

Special bond

Corey Neilson's men didn't disappoint - a first period blitz stunning Paul Thompson's troops and prompting the Great Britain coach to take a time-out inside the first 15 minutes.

And, despite a brief rally from the Elite League runners-up, this was to be a day for the East Midlanders as Panthers ran out 6-2 winners to ensure the perfect final for the neutral.

With match reports and live pictures up on skysports.com faster than anywhere else in the world, my work for the day was done. More of the same tomorrow, I hoped.

The final, as a spectacle, was just as exciting. The game - one more for the purist rather than the neutral. I wanted goals but Sheffield, and more importantly Jody Lehman, just wouldn't give an inch.

The final hooter sounded with Steelers 2-0 ahead to trigger the craziest celebrations I have ever seen. Helmets were ripped off and thrown in the air followed by a mass pile-on and beer - loads of beer - suddenly appearing on to the ice.

These guys certainly know how to celebrate. Yet, after knocking 10 bells out of each other throughout the match, who was a close second to congratulate them? The Panthers.

They call it a family sport and it is easy to see why. Sheffield forward Brad Cruikshank went on to salute the fans of his former team Basingstoke, showing a special bond between players and supporters.

After the game, one-by-one the players grabbed the microphone and thanked the thousands of travelling Steelers fans who I imagine would have comfortably sat inside the arena for the rest of the night.

So the moral to this story - give this sport a chance, you never know, you just might like it!