1996 Benson & Hedges Cup

The 1996 Benson & Hedges Cup was the 14th edition of the Autumn Cup as a British-wide competition. 16 teams participated in the tournament, which was won by the Nottingham Panthers.

Format
The Benson & Hedges Cup consists of the teams from the Ice Hockey Superleague and the top teams from the British National League. Sixteen teams in total were split into four regional groups playing each team in their group at home and away. The top two teams of each group then progressed to the quarter finals where the teams were paired off and the winning team on aggregate (after playing home and away) progressed to the semi finals. Again the winning team on aggregate progressed to the one-off final game held at Sheffield Arena.

Quarter finals
Ayr Scottish Eagles vs Manchester Storm
 * Manchester Storm 2-4 Ayr Scottish Eagles
 * Ayr Scottish Eagles 3-2 Manchester Storm (Ayr win 7-4 on aggregate)

Basingstoke Bison vs Bracknell Bees
 * Basingstoke Bison 5-3 Bracknell Bees
 * Bracknell Bees 5-6 Basingstoke Bison (Basingstoke win 11-8 on aggregate)

Cardiff Devils vs Nottingham Panthers
 * Nottingham Panthers 0-1 Cardiff Devils
 * Cardiff Devils 3-4 Nottingham Panthers (after penalty shots, Nottingham win 5-4 on aggregate)

Sheffield Steelers vs Newcastle Cobras
 * Newcastle Cobras 0-2 Sheffield Steelers
 * Sheffield Steelers 6-3 Newcastle Cobras (Sheffield win 8-3 on aggregate)

Semi finals
Nottingham Panthers vs Sheffield Steelers
 * Sheffield Steelers 2-3 Nottingham Panthers
 * Nottingham Panthers 3-1 Sheffield Steelers (Nottingham win 6-3 on aggregate)

Basingstoke Bison vs Ayr Scottish Eagles
 * Ayr Scottish Eagles 0-2 Basingstoke Bison
 * Basingstoke Bison 4-9 Ayr Scottish Eagles (Ayr win 9-6 on aggregate)

Final
The final took place at Sheffield Arena between Ayr Scottish Eagles and Nottingham Panthers.


 * Ayr Scottish Eagles 3–5 Nottingham Panthers