Ice hockey: Inaugural title heads for Cardiff

Barring some late misdemeanours resulting in points being deducted, Cardiff Devils will be the inaugural Superleague champions.

After their 7-4 victory at Newcastle Cobras at the weekend, Paul Heavey's Welsh side will be champions if they can pick up two points from their home matches against Manchester Storm and the Cobras. Even if they lost both and Sheffield Steelers won their last three games, the two sides would finish level on points but splitting them on the basis of the results of matches between the pair would mean Cardiff winning.

Nottingham Panthers moved up to third place courtesy of Neil Morgan's overtime winner at Basingstoke Bison. In a see-saw game, Ashley Tait gave Nottingham the lead, Basingstoke hit back to lead 2-1 through the Great Britain forwards Rich Little and Kevin Conway, only for Paul Adey and Jeff Hoad to give Nottingham the edge again.

Bison's Mike Wagstaff took the game into overtime with a 54th-minute strike but Morgan's goal four minutes into sudden-death overtime means Panthers' game against Ayr Scottish Eagles on Saturday looks like deciding who finishes just below Sheffield and Cardiff.