in a game that had seen both the Panthers and the Flyers lead twice. In the league Nottingham again succeeded in qualifying for the playoffs but again failed to register a point. The team repeated this in the Championships the following season bringing the number of consecutive playoff defeats to twelve. In 1988–89 the Panthers enjoyed one of their most successful seasons. They finished third in the league and were not only able to register their first win in the playoffs but also advance to the finals at Wembley for the first time. Nottingham met Whitley Warriors in the semi final, winning the match 8–6. In the final the following day the Panthers defeated the Ayr Bruins 6–3, clinching their first Championship title. Another Autumn Cup followed in 1991 but Dampier left the club during the 1992–93 season to join the newly formed Sheffield Steelers. He was replaced by Kevin Murphy who coached the team for the remainder of the campaign. Murphy was in turn replaced by Mike Blaisdell during the close season of 1993. Blaisdell assembled a strong team for the 1994–95 season and led the Panthers to the Benson & Hedges Cup with a 7–2 victory over the Cardiff Devils in the final. Nottingham opened their league campaign with a 21-game unbeaten run but four defeats over the final two weekends of the regular season, including an 8–6 home defeat by nearest rivals and eventual champions Sheffield, denied the club their first league championship in 39 years. During the 1995–96 season the Panthers made it to both the Benson & Hedges Cup and playoff finals, but they were defeated on each occasion by the Steelers. In 1996 the Panthers became a founder member of the new Ice Hockey Superleague. The new league abolished the wage cap and restrictions on the number of non-British trained players a club was allowed. Many of Nottingham's British players, who had risen through the ranks of the club's youth development system, were dropped in favour of North American imports. Of Nottingham's locally trained contingent only Randall Weber, Ashley Tait and Simon Hunt were retained. The Panthers began the season by qualifying for the Benson & Hedges Cup final for a third straight year following a 6–3 aggregate victory over archrival Sheffield at the semi final stage. In the final they defeated the Ayr Scottish Eagles 5–3, taking the lead 29 seconds into the