2006–07 EIHL season

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 (non-British and European Union citizens) was increased from five to nine.
Clubs also had a greater number of North American players to choose from. Previously, EIHL teams were only able to sign players who had played in the NHL, AHL and ECHL, 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 represented the United Kingdom in the 2006–07 Continental Cup because the 2005–06 champions Belfast Giants and runner-up Newcastle Vipers declined to take part in the tournament.
==Notable events==
*With planning permission granted for a new rink, the Manchester Phoenix entered a team into competitions for the first time since 2003–04. While waiting for the Altrincham Ice Dome to be completed, the Phoenix played home matches at the Deeside Leisure Centre 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 Hull Stingrays were elected to join the Elite League from the second tier English Premier League. 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 moved to a new ice rink in Cardiff Bay. 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 in the final at the SkyDome.
*The Coventry Blaze won their second league title in three seasons, confirming the championship with a 5-1 victory over the Edinburgh Capitals on March 21, 2007 with two games to spare. The Blaze also won a second Challenge Cup with a 9-4 aggregate victory over the Sheffield Steelers in the final.
*The Nottingham Panthers clinched their first Play Off Championship since 1989 with a penalty shots win over the Cardiff Devils. The Panthers won each round of the play offs on penalty shots, defeating their arch rivals Sheffield in the quarter finals and the Belfast Giants in the semi finals before claiming the trophy on April 8, 2007.
==Challenge Cup==
The preliminary round saw Coventry, Hull, Manchester and Sheffield advance to the semi finals. Coventry were drawn to face Manchester and Hull drawn against Sheffield.
===Semi finals===
Date 	Date 	Home 	Away 	Result 	Venue 	 	
1 	December 16 	Coventry Blaze 4 	Manchester Phoenix 1 	Final 	SkyDome Arena 	 	
2 	December 17 	Manchester Phoenix 2 	Coventry Blaze 2 	Final 	Deeside Leisure Centre 	 	
Coventry win 6-3 on aggregate	Coventry win 6-3 on aggregate	Coventry win 6-3 on aggregate	Coventry win 6-3 on aggregate	Coventry win 6-3 on aggregate	Coventry win 6-3 on aggregate	Coventry win 6-3 on aggregate	Coventry win 6-3 on aggregate
Date 	Date 	Home 	Away 	Result 	Venue 	 	
1 	January 10 	Sheffield Steelers 5 	Hull Stingrays 3 	Final 	Hallam FM Arena 	 	
2 	January 24 	Hull Stingrays 0 	Sheffield Steelers 1 	Final 	Hull Arena 	 	
Sheffield win 6-3 on aggregate	Sheffield win 6-3 on aggregate	Sheffield win 6-3 on aggregate	Sheffield win 6-3 on aggregate	Sheffield win 6-3 on aggregate	Sheffield win 6-3 on aggregate	Sheffield win 6-3 on aggregate	Sheffield win 6-3 on aggregate
===Final===
Date 	Date 	Home 	Away 	Result 	Venue 	 	
1 	February 14 	Coventry Blaze 4 	Sheffield Steelers 3 	Final 	SkyDome Arena 	 	
2 	March 27 	Sheffield Steelers 1 	Coventry Blaze 5 	Final 	Hallam FM Arena 	 	
Coventry win 9-4 on aggregate	Coventry win 9-4 on aggregate	Coventry win 9-4 on aggregate	Coventry win 9-4 on aggregate	Coventry win 9-4 on aggregate	Coventry win 9-4 on aggregate	Coventry win 9-4 on aggregate	Coventry win 9-4 on aggregate
==League==
===Final table===
 	Team 	P 	W 	W(OT)	L 	OTL	GF 	GA 	Pts													
1 	Coventry Blaze 	54	31	5 	15	3 	188	129	75 													
2 	Belfast Giants 	54	27	7 	17	3 	192	153	71 													
3 	Cardiff Devils 	54	22	10 	17	5 	175	152	69 													
4 	Sheffield Steelers 	54	26	4 	16	8 	163	154	68 													
5 	Nottingham Panthers	54	25	4 	17	8 	184	149	66 													
6 	Manchester Phoenix 	54	21	5 	22	6 	185	184	58 													
7 	Basingstoke Bison 	54	21	2 	25	6 	161	185	52 													
8 	Newcastle Vipers 	54	22	2 	29	1 	151	169	49 													
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 													
9 	Hull Stingrays 	54	15	3 	33	3 	114	174	39 													
10	Edinburgh Capitals 	54	14	4 	33	3 	160	224	39 													
==Playoffs==
===Quarter finals===
====Quarter Final 1: (1) Coventry Blaze vs. (8) Newcastle Vipers====
Date 	Date 	Home 	Away 	Result 	Venue 	 	
1 	March 31 	Newcastle Vipers 1 	Coventry Blaze 0 	Final 	Metro Radio Arena 	 	
2 	April 1 	Coventry Blaze 5 	Newcastle Vipers 3 	Final (OT) 	SkyDome Arena 	 	
Coventry win 5-4 on aggregate after overtime	Coventry win 5-4 on aggregate after overtime	Coventry win 5-4 on aggregate after overtime	Coventry win 5-4 on aggregate after overtime	Coventry win 5-4 on aggregate after overtime	Coventry win 5-4 on aggregate after overtime	Coventry win 5-4 on aggregate after overtime	Coventry win 5-4 on aggregate after overtime
====Quarter Final 2: (2) Belfast Giants vs. (7) Basingstoke Bison====
Date 	Date 	Home 	Away 	Result 	Venue 	 	
1 	March 31 	Belfast Giants 3 	Basingstoke Bison 1 	Final 	Odyssey Arena 	 	
2 	April 1 	Basingstoke Bison 3 	Belfast Giants 5 	Final 	Planet Ice Silverdome 	 	
Belfast win 8-4 on aggregate	Belfast win 8-4 on aggregate	Belfast win 8-4 on aggregate	Belfast win 8-4 on aggregate	Belfast win 8-4 on aggregate	Belfast win 8-4 on aggregate	Belfast win 8-4 on aggregate	Belfast win 8-4 on aggregate
====Quarter Final 3: (3) Cardiff Devils vs. (6) Manchester Phoenix====
Date 	Date 	Home 	Away 	Result 	Venue 	 	
1 	March 31 	Cardiff Devils 3 	Manchester Phoenix 1 	Final 	Cardiff Bay Ice Rink 	 	
2 	April 1 	Manchester Phoenix 2 	Cardiff Devils 1 	Final 	Altrincham Ice Dome 	 	
Cardiff win 4-3 on aggregate	Cardiff win 4-3 on aggregate	Cardiff win 4-3 on aggregate	Cardiff win 4-3 on aggregate	Cardiff win 4-3 on aggregate	Cardiff win 4-3 on aggregate	Cardiff win 4-3 on aggregate	Cardiff win 4-3 on aggregate
====Quarter Final 4: (4) Sheffield Steelers vs. (5) Nottingham Panthers====
Date 	Date 	Home 	Away 	Result 	Venue 	 	
1 	March 31 	Nottingham Panthers 4 	Sheffield Steelers 2 	Final 	National Ice Centre 	 	
2 	April 1 	Sheffield Steelers 3 	Nottingham Panthers 2 	Final (PS) 	Hallam FM Arena 	 	
Nottingham win 6-5 on aggregate after penalty shots	Nottingham win 6-5 on aggregate after penalty shots	Nottingham win 6-5 on aggregate after penalty shots	Nottingham win 6-5 on aggregate after penalty shots	Nottingham win 6-5 on aggregate after penalty shots	Nottingham win 6-5 on aggregate after penalty shots	Nottingham win 6-5 on aggregate after penalty shots	Nottingham win 6-5 on aggregate after penalty shots
===Semi finals===
====Semi Final 1: (1) Coventry Blaze vs. (3) Cardiff Devils====
Date 	Date 	Home 	Away 	Result 	Venue 	 	
1 	April 7 	Coventry Blaze 2	Cardiff Devils 3	Final 	National Ice Centre	 	
Cardiff win 3-2	Cardiff win 3-2	Cardiff win 3-2 	Cardiff win 3-2 	Cardiff win 3-2	Cardiff win 3-2 	Cardiff win 3-2	Cardiff win 3-2
====Semi Final 2: (2) Belfast Giants vs. (5) Nottingham Panthers====
Date 	Date 	Home 	Away 	Result 	Venue 	 	
1 	April 7 	Belfast Giants 1 	Nottingham Panthers 2 	Final (PS) 	National Ice Centre 	 	
Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots
===Grand final===
====(3) Cardiff Devils vs. (5) Nottingham Panthers====
Date 	Date 	Home 	Away 	Result 	Venue 	 	
1 	April 8 	Cardiff Devils 1 	Nottingham Panthers 2 	Final (PS) 	National Ice Centre 	 	
Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots	Nottingham win 2-1 after penalty shots
==Awards==
*Coach of the Year Trophy – Paul Thompson, Coventry Blaze
*Player of the Year Trophy – Mark Smith, Cardiff Devils
*Ice Hockey Annual Trophy – Tony Hand, Manchester Phoenix
*British Netminder of the Year – Stephen Murphy, Edinburgh Capitals
*Alan Weeks Trophy – Jonathan Weaver, Newcastle Vipers
*Best British Forward – Tony Hand, Manchester Phoenix
===All Star teams===
First Team 	Position	Second Team
Trevor Koenig, Coventry Blaze 	G 	Ratislav Rovnianek, Nottingham Panthers
Neal Martin, Coventry Blaze 	D 	Tyson Teplitsky, Cardiff Devils
Jan Krajicek, Nottingham Panthers	D 	Jonathan Weaver, Newcastle Vipers
Mark Smith, Cardiff Devils 	F 	Dan Carlson, Coventry Blaze
Adam Calder, Coventry Blaze 	F 	Johan Molin, Manchester Phoenix
Dan Tessier, Sheffield Steelers 	F 	Sean McAslan, Nottingham Panthers
==References==
*Ice Hockey Journalists UK
*Malcolm Preen's Ice Hockey Results and Tables
Category:EIHL season
EIHL season, 2006-07
EIHL season, 2006-07