Nottingham Panthers: Corey Neilson revels in 'special' season

Nottingham Panthers coach Corey Neilson said 2013 has been a season "never to forget" for his treble-winning side.

Panthers won the Elite League play-offs against Belfast on Sunday, having already won the League and Cup.

Neilson told BBC East Midlands Today: "It was a fantastic, unbelievable experience the whole year.

"We led the league in every statistical category. We were the toughest team, scored the most goals and won trophies. It was a year never to forget."

Neilson said the highlight was securing a regular season league title for the club for the first time in 57 years.

"The league was the one I was brought here to hopefully deliver," he said. "I brought a fantastic group of players, they did a great job and I am so proud of it.

"For me personally, it was an exceptional year. I had my jersey retried and we won all the silverware. It was such a building process from day one and we had a vision and it has come to this.

"It will be tough to top this. It was a special year.

"But we have some great goals. We are going to play in European competition which is really exiting. We want to make our mark and put British hockey on the map."