Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2006 19:33:41 GMT
Well, here are the results.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed sifting through so many great memories. Big up to Kim as well, who would get the ‘based on an idea by’ credit if this was a film.
To build up the tension, and in classic Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman style, I have listed the results in reverse order. So here we go pop pickers. Not ‘arf.
Dah dah dah da da dah, dah dah daahhhhh……..
20. Nottingham Panthers 3-3 Brighton Tigers - British Championship Final second leg - Final game of the original era (1960) / Nottingham Panthers 7-4 Solihull Barons - First game of the second era (September 22nd 1980) / Nottingham Panthers 1-2 Newcastle Riverkings - Final game at the Ice Stadium (March 22nd 2000) / Nottingham Panthers 2-1 London Knights - First ever game at the National Ice Centre (September 2nd 2000)
I have grouped these together as they represent significant milestones in our existence, to which should be added the first game in 1946 against ‘Canadians of RAF (Grantham)’. By my reckoning 2006/07 is our 41st season of hockey, all of which have been in the top flight of whatever league structure has been in operation, quite a record.
19. Eric the organist
To me and, I suspect, many others organ music is an integral part of hockey nights and for many years after we started up again in 1980 we had Eric tootling away during the breaks in play. I know things move on, but I wish we still had organ music as part of match nights
18. Nottingham Panthers 6-5 Durham Wasps - 1985 Norwich Union Trophy Semi-Final First Leg (November 6th 1985)
This was the first time in the modern era that we began to look like we could achieve something. Durham was a powerhouse; you didn’t beat the Wasps. But Jamie Crapper scored with a trademark bullet from the point after 59 seconds, and by the end of the first we were 4-1 up. Ok, Durham came back like the great side they were, and gave us a hammering in the second leg, but this match, and the atmosphere in the Stadium, were top drawer.
17. 1955-56 British National League and Autumn Cup double-winning season
Quite an achievement to do the double in those days. It was before my time so I can’t provide any commentary other than to acknowledge the huge contribution of 62 goals from 56 games by Chick Zamick.
16. Manchester Storm 2-4 Nottingham Panthers - Randall Weber's hat-trick (October 17th 2000)
I didn’t see this myself, but understand the three goals were even strength, power-play and short-handed. The fact Randall was on the ice in each of those situations says a lot about the sort of player he was and his importance to the team for so many seasons.
15. Amiens (October 2004)
Our first competitive foray into Europe, where the team put up a performance to be proud of, with the help of fantastic support from a travelling army of fans.
14. John Purves' shorthanded goal vs London Knights (March 16th 2003)
Unfortunately I wasn’t there to see this, but every report I have read and every eye-witness account I have heard attest to the fact that this was an exceptional goal. He was a class player as well.
13. Greg Hadden's record breaking goal vs Belfast Giants (January 18th 2003)
Not only was this a great achievement, but it was done with aplomb, a great goal on a two-on-one with Jason Elders.
12. Sheffield Steelers 0-5 Nottingham Panthers - Trevor Robins becoming the first opposition goaltender to shut out the Steelers at HOS (December 14th 1997)
Nothing like putting one over one’s biggest rivals. When it’s a shut-out in their place and there’s a big fight as well, it doesn’t get much better.
11. Nottingham Panthers 13-5 Peterborough Pirates - first game after the death of Gary Rippingale (October 31st 1992)
We have had more than our fair share of untimely and tragic deaths since 1980, but this one hit hardest. Rippo was 18, a lovely lad who had just broken through into the Panthers and who looked like a good player. In this home game the team wore their black shirts, very unusual in those days. Then, as we stood to remember him, one by one from one end of the blue line to the other, the Panthers players let their sticks fall to the ice, each one echoing around the totally silent Stadium. A searing and powerful memory.
10. Signing Nick Boynton (January 2005)
Apart from the trials and tribulations we suffered throughout 2004/05, there was the added interest of the NHL lockout and the sight of players from ‘The Show’ playing here. For the most part the players who came to Britain were fringe players, but in Nick Boynton we got to see, every week, a genuine regular NHLer who commanded a seven-figure salary back in Boston. Ian Moran and Steve McKenna were good as well, but in Boynton I reckon we saw the best of the NHL players in Britain, and we are unlikely to see a player of his quality playing regularly in this country again.
9. Nottingham Panthers 3-1 Sheffield Steelers - 1996 Benson & Hedges Cup Semi Final Second Leg (October 30th 1996)
A humdinger of a game played in a huge atmosphere, culminating in Derek Laxdal’s unforgettable pursuit of a loose puck way out on the wing, diving forward to send it bobbling oh so slowly into the empty net.
8. Coventry Blaze 2-1 Nottingham Panthers (OT) - 2005 Playoff Final (April 10th 2005)
We’d endured a terrible run of season-ending injuries, illness and unrest in the camp, but those players who were still standing, inspired by stand-in goalie Ladislav Kudrna and immense performances from our complement of NHLers, upset the form book by making it to the Championship final and pushing the eventual Grand Slam winners all the way in a pulsating match. Best final of the modern era.
7. Nottingham Panthers 8-4 Whitley Warriors – Selmar Odelein vs Mike Rowe (January 16th 1993)
Ask any Panthers fan who was there about this and their eyes will mist over and take on a distant expression. Mike Rowe was a big tough bruiser who also played pretty dirty at times. A few weeks before, Odelein’s brother had come off worse in a coming together with Rowe down at Bracknell. We all knew it, and throughout the game you could see Selmar having words with Rowe at face-offs. The tension was unbearable, and once the game was decided, Rowe had to accept the offer. The other players formed a circle and the crowd stood as the combatants circled, then bam, bam, thank you mam. Selmar skating round, clenched hands above his head before a roaring ovation from the crowd, then another roar as Rowe picked himself up on unsteady legs to reveal a heavily bleeding eye. Brutal but unforgettable. It must have been like that in the Coliseum in Rome. Interestingly, this was Selmar’s first penalty as a Panthers player.
6. Nottingham Panthers 6-4 Sheffield Steelers - The bench clearance and comeback afterwards (February 9th 2001)
Forget the comeback. It’s the massive fight we all remember with Baz taking on all-comers, including a memorable battering of Denis Vial.
5. Newcastle Jesters 2-3 Nottingham Panthers - Robert Nordmark's last gasp winner (March 4th 2001)
2000/01 was a terrible season. First year in the NIC and we spent the whole time at the bottom of the league. Even worse, we had that shocking ‘Dare to Enter’ logo: you could almost hear the opposition players laughing at our guys as they went down for face-offs. Eventually it came down to this game, the last of the regular season. We had to win to get off the bottom and into the play-offs; Newcastle needed only to draw. 2-2 with 10.1 seconds to go, face-off in the Newcastle end, our goal empty. Hadden wins the draw, back to Hoffman at right point, first time across to Nordmark at left point, first time bullet into the top corner. Bedlam. I can still see the net bulging and hear Colin Fray’s ultra-soprano radio commentary even now.
4. Nottingham Panthers 3-1 Manchester Storm - Benson & Hedges Cup Semi Final Second Leg (November 12th 1998)
It’s very rare that a set of circumstances come together to produce an unforgettable night like this. Manchester with their expensively assembled team against us with only 13 skaters, including Simon Hunt who played most of the game with a broken thumb. We went into the game 3-2 down from the first leg, which became 4-2 at 15.41. With 22 minutes left in the tie we were still 4-2 down. Then Bobyck scored just before the end of the period. Cue the crowd. I never heard such a noise. Every stoppage they were up, shouting and hollering, drowning out the music. I clearly remember that from the start of the third period, at every stoppage, Storm goalie Pietrangelo was looking round at the clock. He was intimidated and scared, as I think were all of the Storm players. With nine minutes to go, the unthinkable had happened and we were 3-1 up on the night and winning the tie. We held out, including playing short-handed for the last 1.10. Thrilling hockey and a crowd in full cry in the old Stadium, the very things that hooked a lot of people like me into this wonderful sport and wonderful team.
3. Nottingham Panthers 5-4 Fife Flyers (OT) - 1986 Norwich Union Trophy Final (November 15th 1986)
This was our first trophy of the modern era. It was the first time most of us had experienced overtime. It was the first time we had watched our team in a large arena as part of a 5500+ crowd. Afterwards, some Fife fans came onto our coach and said well done, which is how it should be. And when we got back to Nottingham, the team came into the pub with the cup and we all got drunk together.
2. Sheffield Steelers 2-3 Nottingham Panthers (OT) - 2004 Challenge Cup Final (March 17th 2004)
Continuing the theme of winning things, they don’t come much sweeter than this. Overtime against our great rivals on their ice. It was a good goal as well, and led to another ultra-excited radio commentary from Radio Nottingham as Chris Ellis almost swallowed his tongue.
1. Nottingham Panthers 6-3 Ayr Bruins - 1989 Heineken Championship Final (April 24th 1989)
This was our moment at Wembley and a triumph for Alex Dampier’s then revolutionary system of using two of his three import slots for defencemen. Of course, it helped that the defencemen in question were Terry Kurtenbach and Darren Durdle, and the sole import forward was Paul Adey. Mixed with veteran Brits such as Dwayne Keward, Gavin Fraser and John Bremner as well as young players such as Nigel Rhodes, Randall Weber, Stuart Parker and Simon Hunt, it worked. Particularly satisfying was the fact that of our roster of 18, seven were under 21 years of age, all of whom had come through our junior system. In addition, of 16 points scored in the game, 12 went to British players. A triumph for many years hard work throughout the club.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed sifting through so many great memories. Big up to Kim as well, who would get the ‘based on an idea by’ credit if this was a film.
To build up the tension, and in classic Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman style, I have listed the results in reverse order. So here we go pop pickers. Not ‘arf.
Dah dah dah da da dah, dah dah daahhhhh……..
20. Nottingham Panthers 3-3 Brighton Tigers - British Championship Final second leg - Final game of the original era (1960) / Nottingham Panthers 7-4 Solihull Barons - First game of the second era (September 22nd 1980) / Nottingham Panthers 1-2 Newcastle Riverkings - Final game at the Ice Stadium (March 22nd 2000) / Nottingham Panthers 2-1 London Knights - First ever game at the National Ice Centre (September 2nd 2000)
I have grouped these together as they represent significant milestones in our existence, to which should be added the first game in 1946 against ‘Canadians of RAF (Grantham)’. By my reckoning 2006/07 is our 41st season of hockey, all of which have been in the top flight of whatever league structure has been in operation, quite a record.
19. Eric the organist
To me and, I suspect, many others organ music is an integral part of hockey nights and for many years after we started up again in 1980 we had Eric tootling away during the breaks in play. I know things move on, but I wish we still had organ music as part of match nights
18. Nottingham Panthers 6-5 Durham Wasps - 1985 Norwich Union Trophy Semi-Final First Leg (November 6th 1985)
This was the first time in the modern era that we began to look like we could achieve something. Durham was a powerhouse; you didn’t beat the Wasps. But Jamie Crapper scored with a trademark bullet from the point after 59 seconds, and by the end of the first we were 4-1 up. Ok, Durham came back like the great side they were, and gave us a hammering in the second leg, but this match, and the atmosphere in the Stadium, were top drawer.
17. 1955-56 British National League and Autumn Cup double-winning season
Quite an achievement to do the double in those days. It was before my time so I can’t provide any commentary other than to acknowledge the huge contribution of 62 goals from 56 games by Chick Zamick.
16. Manchester Storm 2-4 Nottingham Panthers - Randall Weber's hat-trick (October 17th 2000)
I didn’t see this myself, but understand the three goals were even strength, power-play and short-handed. The fact Randall was on the ice in each of those situations says a lot about the sort of player he was and his importance to the team for so many seasons.
15. Amiens (October 2004)
Our first competitive foray into Europe, where the team put up a performance to be proud of, with the help of fantastic support from a travelling army of fans.
14. John Purves' shorthanded goal vs London Knights (March 16th 2003)
Unfortunately I wasn’t there to see this, but every report I have read and every eye-witness account I have heard attest to the fact that this was an exceptional goal. He was a class player as well.
13. Greg Hadden's record breaking goal vs Belfast Giants (January 18th 2003)
Not only was this a great achievement, but it was done with aplomb, a great goal on a two-on-one with Jason Elders.
12. Sheffield Steelers 0-5 Nottingham Panthers - Trevor Robins becoming the first opposition goaltender to shut out the Steelers at HOS (December 14th 1997)
Nothing like putting one over one’s biggest rivals. When it’s a shut-out in their place and there’s a big fight as well, it doesn’t get much better.
11. Nottingham Panthers 13-5 Peterborough Pirates - first game after the death of Gary Rippingale (October 31st 1992)
We have had more than our fair share of untimely and tragic deaths since 1980, but this one hit hardest. Rippo was 18, a lovely lad who had just broken through into the Panthers and who looked like a good player. In this home game the team wore their black shirts, very unusual in those days. Then, as we stood to remember him, one by one from one end of the blue line to the other, the Panthers players let their sticks fall to the ice, each one echoing around the totally silent Stadium. A searing and powerful memory.
10. Signing Nick Boynton (January 2005)
Apart from the trials and tribulations we suffered throughout 2004/05, there was the added interest of the NHL lockout and the sight of players from ‘The Show’ playing here. For the most part the players who came to Britain were fringe players, but in Nick Boynton we got to see, every week, a genuine regular NHLer who commanded a seven-figure salary back in Boston. Ian Moran and Steve McKenna were good as well, but in Boynton I reckon we saw the best of the NHL players in Britain, and we are unlikely to see a player of his quality playing regularly in this country again.
9. Nottingham Panthers 3-1 Sheffield Steelers - 1996 Benson & Hedges Cup Semi Final Second Leg (October 30th 1996)
A humdinger of a game played in a huge atmosphere, culminating in Derek Laxdal’s unforgettable pursuit of a loose puck way out on the wing, diving forward to send it bobbling oh so slowly into the empty net.
8. Coventry Blaze 2-1 Nottingham Panthers (OT) - 2005 Playoff Final (April 10th 2005)
We’d endured a terrible run of season-ending injuries, illness and unrest in the camp, but those players who were still standing, inspired by stand-in goalie Ladislav Kudrna and immense performances from our complement of NHLers, upset the form book by making it to the Championship final and pushing the eventual Grand Slam winners all the way in a pulsating match. Best final of the modern era.
7. Nottingham Panthers 8-4 Whitley Warriors – Selmar Odelein vs Mike Rowe (January 16th 1993)
Ask any Panthers fan who was there about this and their eyes will mist over and take on a distant expression. Mike Rowe was a big tough bruiser who also played pretty dirty at times. A few weeks before, Odelein’s brother had come off worse in a coming together with Rowe down at Bracknell. We all knew it, and throughout the game you could see Selmar having words with Rowe at face-offs. The tension was unbearable, and once the game was decided, Rowe had to accept the offer. The other players formed a circle and the crowd stood as the combatants circled, then bam, bam, thank you mam. Selmar skating round, clenched hands above his head before a roaring ovation from the crowd, then another roar as Rowe picked himself up on unsteady legs to reveal a heavily bleeding eye. Brutal but unforgettable. It must have been like that in the Coliseum in Rome. Interestingly, this was Selmar’s first penalty as a Panthers player.
6. Nottingham Panthers 6-4 Sheffield Steelers - The bench clearance and comeback afterwards (February 9th 2001)
Forget the comeback. It’s the massive fight we all remember with Baz taking on all-comers, including a memorable battering of Denis Vial.
5. Newcastle Jesters 2-3 Nottingham Panthers - Robert Nordmark's last gasp winner (March 4th 2001)
2000/01 was a terrible season. First year in the NIC and we spent the whole time at the bottom of the league. Even worse, we had that shocking ‘Dare to Enter’ logo: you could almost hear the opposition players laughing at our guys as they went down for face-offs. Eventually it came down to this game, the last of the regular season. We had to win to get off the bottom and into the play-offs; Newcastle needed only to draw. 2-2 with 10.1 seconds to go, face-off in the Newcastle end, our goal empty. Hadden wins the draw, back to Hoffman at right point, first time across to Nordmark at left point, first time bullet into the top corner. Bedlam. I can still see the net bulging and hear Colin Fray’s ultra-soprano radio commentary even now.
4. Nottingham Panthers 3-1 Manchester Storm - Benson & Hedges Cup Semi Final Second Leg (November 12th 1998)
It’s very rare that a set of circumstances come together to produce an unforgettable night like this. Manchester with their expensively assembled team against us with only 13 skaters, including Simon Hunt who played most of the game with a broken thumb. We went into the game 3-2 down from the first leg, which became 4-2 at 15.41. With 22 minutes left in the tie we were still 4-2 down. Then Bobyck scored just before the end of the period. Cue the crowd. I never heard such a noise. Every stoppage they were up, shouting and hollering, drowning out the music. I clearly remember that from the start of the third period, at every stoppage, Storm goalie Pietrangelo was looking round at the clock. He was intimidated and scared, as I think were all of the Storm players. With nine minutes to go, the unthinkable had happened and we were 3-1 up on the night and winning the tie. We held out, including playing short-handed for the last 1.10. Thrilling hockey and a crowd in full cry in the old Stadium, the very things that hooked a lot of people like me into this wonderful sport and wonderful team.
3. Nottingham Panthers 5-4 Fife Flyers (OT) - 1986 Norwich Union Trophy Final (November 15th 1986)
This was our first trophy of the modern era. It was the first time most of us had experienced overtime. It was the first time we had watched our team in a large arena as part of a 5500+ crowd. Afterwards, some Fife fans came onto our coach and said well done, which is how it should be. And when we got back to Nottingham, the team came into the pub with the cup and we all got drunk together.
2. Sheffield Steelers 2-3 Nottingham Panthers (OT) - 2004 Challenge Cup Final (March 17th 2004)
Continuing the theme of winning things, they don’t come much sweeter than this. Overtime against our great rivals on their ice. It was a good goal as well, and led to another ultra-excited radio commentary from Radio Nottingham as Chris Ellis almost swallowed his tongue.
1. Nottingham Panthers 6-3 Ayr Bruins - 1989 Heineken Championship Final (April 24th 1989)
This was our moment at Wembley and a triumph for Alex Dampier’s then revolutionary system of using two of his three import slots for defencemen. Of course, it helped that the defencemen in question were Terry Kurtenbach and Darren Durdle, and the sole import forward was Paul Adey. Mixed with veteran Brits such as Dwayne Keward, Gavin Fraser and John Bremner as well as young players such as Nigel Rhodes, Randall Weber, Stuart Parker and Simon Hunt, it worked. Particularly satisfying was the fact that of our roster of 18, seven were under 21 years of age, all of whom had come through our junior system. In addition, of 16 points scored in the game, 12 went to British players. A triumph for many years hard work throughout the club.
.
