FIXTURE LIST WITH LINKS TO MEMORABLE GAMES

After a summer of upheaval Whitley had been saved from relegation by the loss of Peterborough, Bracknell & Edinburgh for financial reasons. They had become the Newcastle Warriors. Slough had been promoted at the end of 94/95.
On the Panthers front, this season started on a comparatively low key manner. Out had gone record point scorer Rick Brebant, lured by Sir John Hall's wallet. Also to Durha, had gone Ross Lambert, who on many occasions had been the heart of the team. On the bright side Darren "Doc" Durdle was returning. Whatever was to come this season would be hard pressed to match the home displays of the season before.
"We probably don't have the firepower to simply go out and try to out-score the opposition, so we'll need to play a little more conservatively. Unfortunately it won't be quite as exciting for the fans, but I think they'll appreciate the reason for the change in style. (Blaisdell: Aug 95.)
By the end of September the following appeared in the IHNR: "Just a few weeks into the season and Panthers have already gone some way to confound the critics who had written off their chances after last season's disappointments and a summer of uncertainty in Lace City. Certainly the way the team have stormed into the quarter finals of the Benson & Hedges Cup suggests it would be foolish to count out Mike Blaisdell's side just yet." Panthers overcame Basingstoke in the quarter final & Humberside in the semi-final, before meeting Sheffield on home ice at Sheffield Arena in the final, where they lost 5-2.
By Christmas the following appeared:- "According to local press reports Nottingham coach Mike Blaisdell has been told the club has no cash available to strengthen the squad with any top players from Europe. "It's a shame, if I was able to bring in two quality players then we'd be real contenders for the games major honours. But the constraints I'm having to budget under mean I am being forced to look at budget players and that, unfortunately won't allow us to improve that much." Mike Blaisdell.
Early in the new year Panthers had taken advantage of the Bosman ruling and signed Pasi Unkuri, a young Finnish defenceman. One of the aforementioned budget players.
Despite the financial position compared to some other premier league teams, Panthers continued to be competitive and remained in the upper echelons of the Premier league. But by the end of January the injury jinx was beginning to strike. Doc Durdle damaged knee ligaments and Simon Hunt had a recurrence of a wrist injury, both faced lengthy lay offs. The loss of Durdle's influence both on offence and defence was a severe blow.
By the end of February the team was into what was now becoming a traditional end of season slump, partly due to injuries and partly due to lack of confidence leading to a loss of collective form.
"So we have lost a few games recently. I hope by the time you read this we have got back on the winning trail again, but whether we have or not, with the play offs approaching , we need to remind ourselves of the positive aspects of the season to date. If you are all honest enough to admit it, the amount of success we have actually had this season has come as a pleasant surprise. It was our performances prior to Christmas that forced the likes of Sheffield and Cardiff to re-appraise the strength of their line ups and spend money. We may not win any prizes this year but Mike has done a remarkable job here, and he can still play a bit too". (Col, programme.)
By the beginning of March with the squad still ravaged by injuries, Panthers sprang a surprise by releasing Chuck Taylor. Said Blaisdell "Chuck has given us excellent service, particularly last season, but lately his lack of training has left him struggling to keep up with the pace of the game. I agree the timing may seem a little strange, and it probably would've happened earlier in the season if we hadn't had so many injuries."
Panthers went into the play offs against Sheffield & seasons bogey team Fife but went through to the Wembley weekend after some stirring displays against both teams. In the semi-final the opponents were Durham who succumbed despite the money they had spent by a score of 3-1. And so on to the final in which Panthers went down by the odd goal in nine against the Steelers.