2004 – 05 EIHL season The 2004 – 05 Elite Ice Hockey League season was the second season of the British Elite Ice Hockey League ( EIHL ) . Manchester Phoenix did not ice due as they could not agree a deal with the Manchester Evening News Arena . The second season of the EIHL saw a series of games between the EIHL clubs and the members of the British National League ( BNL ) . In addition to three home games and three away games against their Elite opponents , each club also played one home game and one away game against the BNL clubs in " crossover " matchups . Results in these " crossover " games would count towards a team ' s points tally . The NHL lockout also saw a number of National Hockey League ( NHL ) players join British clubs . Coventry Blaze won a of all three titles , winning the Championship with an overtime victory over the Nottingham Panthers . The " crossover " games with the BNL clubs were seen by many to be the first stage towards the amalgamation of the two organisations into one league . However , early in the season it was revealed that teams including Edinburgh Capitals and Newcastle Vipers were seeking to resign from the BNL and join the Elite League . A withdrawal of the these clubs would leave the BNL with only a small number of participating teams . This situation led to the resigning teams temporarily withdrawing their Elite League applications and entering into collective discussions on the entire BNL joining the EIHL instead . The Elite League offered the BNL clubs invitations to join the EIHL structure , which were declined due to unfavourable terms . Subsequently Edinburgh and Newcastle resubmitted individual applications to the Elite League , both of which were accepted . A combination of this and Bracknell Bees owner John Nike ' s announcement that he was withdrawing funding from the BNL team prompted the collapse of the BNL at the end of the 2004 – 05 season . Challenge Cup . During the early part of the season , the results from league games also counted towards a separate Challenge Cup table . However , in a change to the previous season , there were two groups of teams , Group A with three teams and Group B with four teams . After each team had played each team in their group once at home and once away , the top two teams of each group qualified for the semi finals . Group A . 1 point awarded for an overtime loss . Group B . 1 point awarded for an overtime loss . Semi Finals . Winner A ( Coventry ) vs Runner - up B ( Nottingham ) Winner B ( Cardiff ) vs Runner - up A ( Sheffield ) Final . First Leg Second Leg League . The top six teams qualifed for the playoffs . Playoffs . The top six teams qualified for the playoffs . Group A consisted of Coventry , Nottingham and London while Group B consisted of Belfast , Cardiff and Sheffield . Each team played the other teams in its group twice at home and twice away . The top two of each group then qualified for the playoff weekend at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham . Semi Finals . Winner A vs Runner - up B Winner B vs Runner - up A Third place playoff . Loser A vs Loser B Final . Winner A vs Winner B Scoring leaders . The scoring leaders are taken from all league games .