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The 2002–03 Ice Hockey Superleague season was the seventh and final season of the Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL). The Ayr Scottish Eagles, under new management, moved from the Centrum Arena in Ayr to the Braehead Arena just outside
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and shortened their name to simply the Scottish Eagles. The Ahearne Trophy was played for again this season with the competition taking with teams from the Norwegian
Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...
. Starting the season with seven teams, the league invited members of the British National League (BNL) to take part in the
Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
. The call was taken up by the Coventry Blaze, meaning eight teams took part in the competition. However, after playing their Challenge Cup games, the Manchester Storm went into
liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...
and their record for the Challenge Cup and league games was expunged. Not long after, the Scottish Eagles confirmed they had withdrawn from the league with the intention of re-launching the following season. The Eagles' record was also expunged and their place in the Challenge Cup semi-finals was taken by third place team
Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League, Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). T ...
. On 30 November 2002, the
Bracknell Bees The Berkshire Bees are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, UK. They compete in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) National League, the second tier of English Ice Hockey. History Early years The Bracknell Bees were formed in 1987, un ...
announced that they would be moving from the ISL to the BNL for the following season. When the London Arena was sold for development the
London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...
had played their final game. Leaving the ISL with only three teams, the league folded at the end of the season and the three surviving clubs – Belfast Giants,
Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25. The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...
and Sheffield Steelers – helped form the
Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...
for the following season (see
2003–04 EIHL season The 2003–04 Elite Ice Hockey League season was the inaugural season of the Elite Ice Hockey League, Elite League. The season ran from 12 September 2003 until 4 April 2004. During the 2002–03 season, the financial collapse of the Manchester S ...
).


Challenge Cup

With eight teams taking part in the
Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...
and with a British National League team taking part, the competition was separate to the league and the teams were split into two groups of four teams:
Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League, Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). T ...
, Manchester Storm, Scottish Eagles and Sheffield Steelers were in Group A and
Bracknell Bees The Berkshire Bees are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, UK. They compete in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) National League, the second tier of English Ice Hockey. History Early years The Bracknell Bees were formed in 1987, un ...
, Coventry Blaze,
London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...
and
Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25. The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...
were in Group B. The top two teams of each group progressed to the semi-finals. The semi finals and finals were all one-off games.


Group A

1 Belfast Giants go through taking Scottish Eagles place due to retiring from the league and competition.


Group B


Semi-finals

1st place Group A (Sheffield ) vs 2nd place Group B (London) * Sheffield Steelers 5–4
London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...
(after
overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
and
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
) 1st place Group B (Nottingham) vs 2nd place Group A (Belfast) *
Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25. The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...
3–2
Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League, Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). T ...


Final

Winner semi final 1 vs Winner semi final 2 * Sheffield Steelers 3–2
Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25. The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...


Ahearne Trophy

The Ahearne Trophy was won by the Superleague on 8 February 2003, after Belfast Giants and Sheffield Steelers won over Frisk Tigers and
Storhamar Dragons Storhamar Hockey, often referred to by its initials SIL, is a Norwegian ice hockey team based in Hamar, Norway. The club currently plays in the EliteHockey Ligaen, the highest level of Norwegian hockey. The club has won eight regular season ...
respectively.


League

Each team played four home games and four away games against each of their opponents. All five teams in the league were entered into the
playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
.


Playoffs

All five teams in the league took part in the
playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
. After an initial round where each team played all the other teams twice at home and twice away, the top four teams qualified for the finals weekend.


Round one


Semi-finals

1st place vs 4th place *
Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League, Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). T ...
1-0 Sheffield Steelers (after
overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
and
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
) 2nd place vs 3rd place *
London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...
4–3
Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25. The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...


Final

Winner semi final 1 vs Winner semi final 2 *Belfast Giants 5–3 London Knights


Awards

* Coach of the Year TrophyMike Blaisdell, Sheffield Steelers * Player of the Year TrophyJoel Laing, Sheffield Steelers


All Star teams


Scoring leaders

The scoring leaders are taken from all league games. *Most
points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...
: 36 Lee Jinman (
Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25. The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...
) *Most goals: 16 Den Ceman (
Bracknell Bees The Berkshire Bees are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, UK. They compete in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) National League, the second tier of English Ice Hockey. History Early years The Bracknell Bees were formed in 1987, un ...
) *Most assists: 24 Lee Jinman (Nottingham Panthers) and Robby Sandrock (
Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League, Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). T ...
) *Most PIMs: 150 Barry Nieckar (Nottingham Panthers)


References


Ice Hockey Journalists UK


Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:2002-03 ISL season Ice Hockey Superleague seasons 1 United