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British Championship (ice hockey)

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See British Home Championship for the football competition. -

The British Championship is the most prestigious ice hockey cup competition in the United Kingdom, and also the longest established ice hockey competition.[1]

The competition is effectively the post-season playoffs of the first-tier league in the country to determine the British champions for the season. They are therefore held after the regular season, whereby the positions in the league ladder determine entry and seeding.[2] The first placed team in the league is considered to have won the national league title as a separate title, but the British champion for the season is historically considered to be the winner of the post-season playoffs.

In its current format, the eight highest placed teams in the first-tier Elite Ice Hockey League contest quarter finals, the winners going on to semi finals and then the deciding one-leg final.

Early years

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There were three instances of an early championship; the first was in the 1929-30 British Ice Hockey season which was the inaugural season of organised league ice hockey in Britain. The championship was won by London Lions when known as the Patton Cup.[3] The second edition the following season was abandoned after Manchester and Glasgow couldn't agree on dates for their semi-final tie. The winner was to have met the English Club champions London Lions in the final. The third instance took place during the 1959–60 British National League season.

Modern edition

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From 1966 it became an annual event when known as the Icy Smith Cup[4] and then after 1982 it had several sponsors and names including the Heineken Championship Cup and latterly as the Sekonda Playoff Championship Cup. Some contests were only recognised as representing the Championship retroactively. At present, the Championship is called the Twinings Tea Cup.

Champions

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Season Winner Runner-up
1930 London Lions (1) Glasgow Mohawks
1960 Brighton Tigers (1) Nottingham Panthers
1966 Murrayfield Racers (1) Durham Hornets
1967 Glasgow Dynamos (1) Murrayfield Racers
1968 Paisley Mohawks (1) Durham Wasps
1969 Murrayfield Racers (2) Glasgow Dynamos
1970 Murrayfield Racers (3) Glasgow Dynamos
1971 Murrayfield Racers (4) Durham Wasps
1972 Murrayfield Racers (5) Fife Flyers
1973 Whitley Warriors (1) Murrayfield Racers
1974 Whitley Warriors (2) Streatham Redskins
1975 Murrayfield Racers (6) Streatham Redskins
1976 Ayr Bruins (1) Streatham Redskins
1977 Fife Flyers (1) Southampton Vikings
1978 Fife Flyers (2) Southampton Vikings
1979 Murrayfield Racers (7) Streatham Redskins
1980 Murrayfield Racers (8) Solihull Barons
1981 Murrayfield Racers (9) Streatham Redskins
1982 Dundee Rockets (1) Streatham Redskins
1983 Dundee Rockets (2) Durham Wasps
1984 Dundee Rockets (3) Murrayfield Racers
1985 Fife Flyers (3) Murrayfield Racers
1986 Murrayfield Racers (10) Dundee Rockets
1987 Durham Wasps (1) Murrayfield Racers
1988 Durham Wasps (2) Fife Flyers
1989 Nottingham Panthers (1) Ayr Bruins
1990 Cardiff Devils (1) Murrayfield Racers
1991 Durham Wasps (3) Peterborough Pirates
1992 Durham Wasps (4) Nottingham Panthers
1993 Cardiff Devils (2) Humberside Seahawks
1994 Cardiff Devils (3) Sheffield Steelers
1995 Sheffield Steelers (1) Murrayfield Racers
1996 Sheffield Steelers (2) Nottingham Panthers
1997 Sheffield Steelers (3) Nottingham Panthers
1998 Ayr Scottish Eagles (1) Cardiff Devils
1999 Cardiff Devils (4) Nottingham Panthers
2000 London Knights (1) Newcastle Riverkings
2001 Sheffield Steelers (4) London Knights
2002 Sheffield Steelers (5) Manchester Storm
2003 Belfast Giants (1) London Knights
2004 Sheffield Steelers (6) Nottingham Panthers
2005 Coventry Blaze (1) Nottingham Panthers
2006 Newcastle Vipers (1) Sheffield Steelers
2007 Nottingham Panthers (2) Cardiff Devils
2008 Sheffield Steelers (7) Coventry Blaze
2009 Sheffield Steelers (8) Nottingham Panthers
2010 Belfast Giants (2) Cardiff Devils
2011 Nottingham Panthers (3) Cardiff Devils
2012 Nottingham Panthers (4) Cardiff Devils
2013 Nottingham Panthers (5) Belfast Giants
2014 Sheffield Steelers (9) Belfast Giants
2015 Coventry Blaze (2) Sheffield Steelers
2016 Nottingham Panthers (6) Coventry Blaze
2017 Sheffield Steelers (10) Cardiff Devils
2018 Cardiff Devils (5) Sheffield Steelers
2019 Cardiff Devils (6) Belfast Giants
2020–21 Did not take place due to COVID-19
2022 Cardiff Devils (7) Belfast Giants
2023 Belfast Giants (3) Cardiff Devils
2024 Sheffield Steelers (11) Belfast Giants

References

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  1. ^ "THE EIHL". EIHL.
  2. ^ "Elite League Playoffs". EIHL.
  3. ^ "Ice Hockey by Major Bethune Minet Patton" (PDF). Oxford University.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Montague, Trevor (2004). A to Z of Sport, page 457. The Bath Press. ISBN 0-316-72645-1.