Challenge Cup

Challenge Cup 	Challenge Cup
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Established 	1997
Current holder 	Belfast Giants
Most successful club	Sheffield Steelers (4 times)
The Challenge Cup, awarded annually by the Elite Ice Hockey League, is a cup competition for ice hockey clubs in the United Kingdom. It is one of the four competitions ran each season by the Elite League, the others being the league championship, playoff championship and Knockout Cup. Prior to the formation of the Elite League in 2003, the Challenge Cup was organised by the Ice Hockey Superleague.
First awarded during the 1997–98 season, the Challenge Cup has had numerous different formats depending on the number of teams participating and the format of other competitions run during a particular season. The first six finals were single games played at a pre determined venue. Since the inaugural season of the Elite League finals have been contested over two games. The current holders of the trophy are the Belfast Giants who defeated the Manchester Phoenix 6–5 on aggregate in the 2008–09 final. The Steelers are the competition's most successful team, winning the title four times. The now-defunct Ayr Scottish Eagles, the Coventry Blaze and the Nottingham Panthers have each won the cup twice.
==Finals==
===1997-03: Superleague===
Season 	Winner 	Score	Runner up 	Venue
1997–98	Ayr Scottish Eagles	3–2 	Bracknell Bees 	Telewest Arena
1998–99	Sheffield Steelers 	4–0 	Nottingham Panthers	Sheffield Arena
1999–00	Sheffield Steelers 	2–1 	Nottingham Panthers	London Arena
2000–01	Sheffield Steelers 	4–2 	Ayr Scottish Eagles	Odyssey Arena
2001–02	Ayr Scottish Eagles	5–0 	Belfast Giants 	Odyssey Arena
2002–03	Sheffield Steelers 	3–2 	Nottingham Panthers	MEN Arena
===2003–present: Elite League===
Season 	Home team 	Score 	Away team 	Venue
2003–04	Nottingham Panthers 	1–1 	Sheffield Steelers 	National Ice Centre
2003–04	Sheffield Steelers 	2–3AOT 	Nottingham Panthers 	Sheffield Arena
2003–04	Nottingham won 4–3 on aggregate after overtime 	Nottingham won 4–3 on aggregate after overtime 	Nottingham won 4–3 on aggregate after overtime 	
2004–05	Coventry Blaze 	6–1 	Cardiff Devils 	SkyDome Arena
2004–05	Cardiff Devils 	4–5 	Coventry Blaze 	Wales National Ice Rink
2004–05	Coventry won 11–5 on aggregate 	Coventry won 11–5 on aggregate 	Coventry won 11–5 on aggregate 	
2005–06	Coventry Blaze 	3–0 	Cardiff Devils 	SkyDome Arena
2005–06	Cardiff Devils 	4–1AOT 	Coventry Blaze 	Wales National Ice Rink
2005–06	Aggregate: 4–4</br>Cardiff won 1–0 in penalty shootout	Aggregate: 4–4</br>Cardiff won 1–0 in penalty shootout	Aggregate: 4–4</br>Cardiff won 1–0 in penalty shootout	
2006–07	Coventry Blaze 	4–3 	Sheffield Steelers 	SkyDome Arena
2006–07	Sheffield Steelers 	1–5 	Coventry Blaze 	Sheffield Arena
2006–07	Coventry won 9–4 on aggregate 	Coventry won 9–4 on aggregate 	Coventry won 9–4 on aggregate 	
2007–08	Sheffield Steelers 	3–6 	Nottingham Panthers 	Sheffield Arena
2007–08	Nottingham Panthers 	3–4 	Sheffield Steelers 	National Ice Centre
2007–08	Nottingham won 9–7 on aggregate 	Nottingham won 9–7 on aggregate 	Nottingham won 9–7 on aggregate 	
2008–09	Manchester Phoenix 	4–3 	Belfast Giants 	Silver Blades Ice Dome
2008–09	Belfast Giants 	3–1 	Manchester Phoenix 	Dundonald Ice Bowl
2008–09	Belfast won 6–5 on aggregate 	Belfast won 6–5 on aggregate 	Belfast won 6–5 on aggregate 	
==Total titles won==
Club 	Winners	Runners-up	Semi finalist	Winning years
Sheffield Steelers 	4 	3 	2 	1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03
Nottingham Panthers	2 	3 	4 	2003–04, 2007–08
Ayr Scottish Eagles	2 	1 	0 	1997–98, 2001–02
Coventry Blaze 	2 	1 	0 	2004–05, 2006–07
Cardiff Devils 	1 	1 	3 	2005–06
Belfast Giants 	1 	1 	3 	2008-09
Bracknell Bees 	0 	1 	3 	
London Knights 	0 	0 	3 	
Newcastle Vipers 	0 	0 	2 	
Hull Stingrays 	0 	0 	1 	
Manchester Phoenix 	0 	1 	1 	
Category:Ice hockey in Great Britain