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Wed 18 Mar 2026 - 10:30AM

CHALLENGE CUP FINAL LOWDOWN

CHALLENGE CUP FINAL LOWDOWN Top Image

By Jono Bullard

The EIHL Challenge Cup Final takes place at a sold-out Motorpoint Arena on Wednesday night (19:30) as Coventry Blaze take on Nottingham Panthers for the first piece of domestic silverware this season.

The Blaze come into the final as the higher seeds after qualifying for the semi-finals in second place in Group A with 13 points from 10 group games.

In the semi-final, Blaze faced Belfast Giants over two legs, winning the first leg at the Skydome 3-2 before winning 6-3 in Belfast in the second leg for a 9-5 aggregate victory.

Panthers finished third in Group A which secured a place in the Elimination Game against Glasgow Clan who finished second in Group B.

Danny Stewart's side went on to win the game 4-1 at Braehead Arena and would face bitter rivals Sheffield Steelers in the semi-final.

In the first leg at the Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham shutout the Steelers to take the game 3-0.

In the return in Sheffield one week later, Steelers were 4-1 ahead after 60 minutes to take the tie into overtime.

Just 25 seconds of the extra period was needed for Bryan Lemos to score the winning goal and take Panthers to the final.

Blaze and Panthers faced each other twice in the Challenge Cup group stages earlier in the season.

Panthers won 3-0 at the Skydome on 28th September and won 3-2 after a penalty shootout at the Motorpoint Arena on 22nd October.

It was that point from the shootout loss that was enough for Blaze to secure their semi-final place, while the win gave Panthers a place in the Elimination Game.

Overall, the two sides have played each other eight times in competitive games this season, with Blaze winning two and Panthers winning six, but honours are even in games at the Motorpoint Arena with both sides winning two games each.

For Blaze, Alessio Luciani is the top goal and points-scorer in the Challenge Cup this season with six goals and six assists for 12 points in 12 games. He's followed by Matthew Gleason (6+4) and Colton Saucerman (5+5) who both have 10 points in 12 games.

Matt Marcinew leads the Panthers in cup points and goalscoring with seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 13 games. Mitch Fossier has 13 points in 12 games (6+7) and Chase Pearson has 12 points in eight games (4+8).

It promises to be an intriguing final!