The Rivalrys

Pidges Red Wings and Panthers site

The Rivalrys

Panthers V Steelers

This very intense fixture in the british ice hockey fixure calender always brings out the best in players., always a must win for both sides here is some great battles over the years including one whish boiled over to a limit never seen before in this country which is still talked about today.

Baz takes on Ali

The Auld enemies do battle

Theres some unfinished business here when Panthers Barry Neickar takes revenge on Sheffield Scott Alison after the infamous bench clearence the previous season.

Red Wings v Avalanche

How it began : May 29, 1996

During a already heated playoff series in Colorado, Claude Lemueix ended up being the straw that broke the camels back. A vicious hit delivered in front of the Wings bench to Kris Draper by Lemuiex landed Draper in the hospital with a smashed jaw and various other injuries. No penalty was called on the play and it was disputed whether it was an illegal hit or not.

Coupled with some hateful words from Lemiuex after the incident and the Wings loss to the Avs in their series with the Avs, emotions in Hockeytown grew over the summer.

Patrick Roy after a bout with Detroit`s Mike Vernon

Revenge is sweet for Detroit

Round Four: 2002 Western Conference Finals

After being eliminated by the Avs in the 1999 and 2000 playoffs, the Wings looked to finally change the outcome.

It was a touch matchup. Detroit won game 1, and Darren McCarty got a rare hat trick, rarer still against Patrick Roy in the playoffs. The Avs won a few key OT games, and at the end of five games, the Avs were up 3-2 and looked to go home and win game six to advance to their second straight Stanley Cup Final. This wasn't to be however. The Wings won the most important game of the series 2-0, and returned home with all the momentum for game 7.

The Red Wings went on to defeat the Carolina Huricanes by 4 games to 1 in the finals to lift their 10th stanley cup in francise history

Games from yesteryear.

17th Sep. 1994 v Sheffield Steelers (H) 8-2

21st Dec. 1996 v Sheffield Steelers (H) 6-2

30th Oct. 1997 v Sheffield Steelers (H) 3-1

14th Dec 1997 v Sheffield Steelers (A) 5-0

The infamous bench clearence of February 9th 2001

Panthers 6 Steelers 4 7,000

(1-3 4-1 1-0)

On a friday night of the 9th February not many of the 7,000 sell out crowd at the National Ice Centre thought this game would take almost over 3 hours to complete but this wasn t any ordinary game, this was the latest battle of the most fierest game in british ice hockey, Nottingham Panthers taking on Sheffield Steelers in there new home the NIC.

The incident taking place in the 24th minute which started as a result of Greg Hadden taking a cheap shot from Denis Vial which went unpunished and with panthers trailing 3-1, the rest. When the dust had settled and both benches considerably reduced due to match penalties within minutes Panthers scored 3 quickfire goals to turn the match around. Panthers sniper P.C. Drouin completed the victory over champions elect Sheffield with a empty net goal.