saw Blaze into the Finals where they met the Newcastle Vipers, but the result was a 0–3 loss. A run of form following the defeat saw the Blaze wrap up the league title with a victory in Dundee. This was followed up with an unbeaten play-offs run, the Final being contested against Cardiff Devils, and a narrow victory in Cardiff was followed by a first ever capacity crowd (2750) at the Skydome for a triumphant night that saw Blaze lift their second trophy of the year. Shortly after the final, Blaze announced their move into the newly formed Elite Ice Hockey League, and commenced preparations for their first ever season in the top flight of British ice hockey. 2003–04 season Season 2003–04 saw another major change in the club's progress as they took part in their first season as a top-flight club in the newly formed Elite League. Coach Paul Thompson stayed true to the team which had won the double in the BNL the year before, replacing only three players; defencemen Steve O'Brien and Steve Gallace coming from the ECHL to replace Andreas Moborg and Ron Shudra and college-graduate Graham Schlender replacing folk-hero Kurt Irvine. The first game of the league saw another first for the club as they flew to their game in Belfast and beat the previous year's Superleague playoff champions. A 6–1 win over Sheffield in October and an 11–0 victory over Manchester Phoenix in December were highlights as the team stayed close the leaders at the top of the table up until Christmas. In the New Year, Blaze fell back and wins were hard to come by, but they still finished third in their first year in the top flight. The playoffs however, got off to an awful start as they lost in Cardiff minus coach Thompson, serving a one match ban following a bench clearance against the Devils the weekend before. With only four games in the group stage, Blaze were unable to get going after that loss and ended the season by finishing winless in the post-season. 2004–05 season If the previous season had finished disappointingly, season 2004–05 ended in the best possible way after the greatest seven months in the club's history. Although stalwarts such as netminder Jody Lehman and new captain Ashley Tait returned, coach Thompson changed many, bringing in more size, more speed and more quality. His greatest coup was