The 2006–07 Elite Ice Hockey League season commenced on September 9, 2006 and concluded on April 8, 2007. It was the Elite League's fourth season of competition. There was a reduction of one in the number of foreign trained players ('imports') a club was allowed to have signed at one time, with a limit of ten per team. The number of players requiring a

work permit A work permit or work visa is the permission to take a job within a foreign country. The foreign country where someone seeks to obtain a work permit for is also known as the "country of work", as opposed to the "country of origin" where someone ho ...

(non-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

citizens) was increased from five to nine. Clubs also had a greater number of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n players to choose from. Previously, EIHL teams were only able to sign players who had played in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

, AHL and

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

, something which essentially limited EIHL clubs to a small pool of ECHL players and inflated wage demands. These new rules allowed clubs to sign players from the CHL and the UHL. The

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 ...

represented the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in the 2006–07 Continental Cup because the 2005–06 champions

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 ...

and runner-up Newcastle Vipers declined to take part in the tournament.

Notable events

*With

planning permission Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...

granted for a new rink, the

Manchester Phoenix Manchester Phoenix were a semi professional ice hockey team from Greater Manchester, England. The club was formed in 2003 as a result of the efforts of supporters group ''Friends of Manchester Ice Hockey'' to bring top-level ice hockey back to M ...

entered a team into competitions for the first time since 2003–04. While waiting for the

Altrincham Ice Dome Planet Ice, formerly known as Altrincham Ice Dome is an ice rink in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It has 2,140 seats according to the rink website, and up to 300 standing places. It is currently operated by Planet Ice. ...

to be completed, the Phoenix played home matches at the

Deeside Leisure Centre Deeside Leisure Centre is a sports centre located in Queensferry, Flintshire. Its facilities include Deeside Ice Rink (an Olympic-sized inline hockey rink), badminton courts, and squash courts. The ice rink is the National Centre for Ice Spo ...

and at IceSheffield. After numerous delays the Ice Dome finally opened on February 25, 2007 with a 5–4 defeat to the

Basingstoke Bison The Basingstoke Bison are an English Ice Hockey club from Basingstoke. They currently compete in the National Ice Hockey League , NIHL National League and have previously been members of the Ice Hockey Superleague and its successor the Elite I ...

. *The Hull Stingrays were elected to join the Elite League from the second tier

English Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. This brought the number of actively participating members in British ice hockey's top flight to ten, the highest number since 1995–96. *The

Cardiff Devils The Cardiff Devils () are a Welsh professional ice hockey team who play in the UK-based Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). The team plays at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay, currently known as ''Vindico Arena'' for sponsorship reasons. Cardiff' ...

moved to a new ice rink in

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

. After playing on the road for the first three months of the season, the Devils played their first game at the Cardiff Bay Ice Rink on December 6, 2006 with a 7–4 victory over Manchester. Despite their difficulties, the Devils won the Knockout Cup with a 3–0 victory over

Coventry Blaze The Coventry Blaze are a British professional ice hockey team based in Coventry, England. They currently compete in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and play their home games at SkyDome Arena. The club was founded in 1965 as the original '' ...

in the final at the

SkyDome Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to ...

. *The Coventry Blaze won their second league title in three seasons, confirming the championship with a 5–1 victory over the

Edinburgh Capitals The Edinburgh Capitals are a Scottish ice hockey club, playing in the Scottish National League (SNL). They are based in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. The team play at the Murrayfield Ice Rink, close to Murrayfield Rugby stadium. In Apr ...

on March 21, 2007 with two games to spare. The Blaze also won a second

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 ...

with a 9-4 aggregate victory over the

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The club's main (tit ...

in the final. *The

clinched their first Play-off Championship since 1989 with a penalty shots win over the Cardiff Devils. The Panthers won each round of the playoffs on penalty shots, defeating their arch rivals Sheffield in the quarterfinals and the

in the semifinals before claiming the trophy on April 8, 2007.

Challenge Cup

The preliminary round saw Coventry, Hull, Manchester and Sheffield advance to the semifinals. Coventry were drawn to face Manchester and Hull drawn against Sheffield.

Semifinals

Final

Elite League Table

Elite League play-offs

Quarter-finals

Quarter Final 1: (1) Coventry Blaze vs. (8) Newcastle Vipers

Quarter Final 2: (2) Belfast Giants vs. (7) Basingstoke Bison

Quarter Final 3: (3) Cardiff Devils vs. (6) Manchester Phoenix

Quarter Final 4: (4) Sheffield Steelers vs. (5) Nottingham Panthers

Semifinals

Semifinal 1: (1) Coventry Blaze vs. (3) Cardiff Devils

Semifinal 2: (2) Belfast Giants vs. (5) Nottingham Panthers

Grand final

(3) Cardiff Devils vs. (5) Nottingham Panthers

Awards

* Coach of the Year Trophy –

Paul Thompson Paul Thompson may refer to: Education *Paul Thompson (professor) (born 1951), British management professor at the University of Strathclyde *Paul B. Thompson (philosopher) (born 1951), American philosopher at Michigan State University *Paul H. Tho ...

* Player of the Year Trophy – Mark Smith,

Ice Hockey Annual Trophy The Ice Hockey Annual Trophy is an ice hockey trophy in the United Kingdom which is awarded to the British player who has scored the most points during the season in league competition only. The award is named after the ''Ice Hockey Annual'', an an ...

–

Tony Hand Anthony Hand MBE (born 15 August 1967) is a Scottish former ice hockey player and coach. He was the first British player to be drafted by an NHL team when he was picked by the Edmonton Oilers in 1986. Nicknamed ''Two point Tony'', he holds seve ...

* British Netminder of the Year – Stephen Murphy,

Alan Weeks Trophy The Alan Weeks Trophy is awarded to the Best British Defenceman in the British Ice Hockey Leagues as voted by Ice Hockey Journalists UK. The award is named after Alan Weeks who was a BBC Commentator for 45 years and Chairman of the Brighton Ti ...

– Jonathan Weaver, Newcastle Vipers * Best British Forward – Tony Hand, Manchester Phoenix

All Star teams

References

Ice Hockey Journalists UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:2006-07 EIHL season Elite Ice Hockey League seasons 1 United