HARDENED fans of the country's best ice hockey team braved sleet and snow to watch the Panthers players raise the championship cup on the balcony of the council house on Saturday.
Arriving on a yellow double-decker bus for a civic reception, the players stepped out onto a snowy Old Market Square to be greeted by a roar of applause from more than 100 fans who had gathered there.
The team brought with them the silverware they have fought so desperately to win – the Elite League Championship Cup.
The Panthers have won the Elite League playoffs and the Challenge Cup competition for the last two years in a row, but the league title had eluded them for 57 years.
"It's magic," said 49-year-old fan John Skindzir, of Hyson Green. "It's been one hell of a season, and this is one of the best teams I have ever seen."
After each player raised the cup to cheers from the crowd below, the players, coaches, general manager Gary Moran and a few lucky fans spontaneously invited by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, Leon Unczur, went inside the Council House.
Mr Unczur said: "It is with great pride that I can say we have the best ice hockey team in the country. This team plays such a big part in the life of the city."
Mr Moran said it was an honour for his team to be recognised: "The Panthers is an escape from people's work, problems, worries and anxieties."
"It says versus on the ticket it does not say beating, but that is exactly what the coaches and players try and do every week.
"However we always remember the saying 'don't get too high with the highs, and don't get too low with the lows'," he said.
Fan Maria Demkiw, 59, of Bakersfield, said: "I've been to see home and away games this season, and it has just been fantastic, I'll never forget it. I'm so pleased Mr Unczur invited me in to the ceremony - I've had my photo taken with some of the players."
Doug "Tex" Winson, 73, of Edwards Lane, Sherwood, said: "The old faithful are still here despite the snow, this really has been the best season for years and I have been supporting the panthers since I was 17 years old."
Player Robert Lakowicz said: "There has been such a great buzz in the changing room this season.
"Normally the team has a bit of dip around Christmas, but that just hasn't happened this time and we've kept up the energy all the way through."
