00:11	|	away	|		|	0-1	|	Brady Gilmour (Stephen Johnson, Gary Haden)
02:10	|	home	|		|	1-1	|	Bryan Lemos (Brendan Harris, Jarod Hilderman)
06:17	|	home	|		|	2-1	|	Zsombor Garát (Mitch Fossier, Matthew Alfaro)
08:17	|	home	|		|	3-1	|	Zsombor Garát (Mitch Fossier, Matthew Alfaro)
15:52	|	home	|		|	4-1	|	Matthew Marcinew (Chase Pearson, Brendan Harris)
26:48	|	home	|		|	5-1	|	Bryan Lemos (Ross Armour, Jarod Hilderman)
40:31	|	away	|		|	5-2	|	Brady Gilmour (Stephen Johnson, Gary Haden)
58:42	|	home	|		|	6-2	|	Tim Doherty (David Noël, Matthew Spencer)

Name		G		A		PIM		+/-
Matthew Alfaro	|		|	2	|		|
Ross Armour	|		|	1	|		|
Tim Doherty	|	1	|		|		|
Mitch Fossier	|		|	2	|		|
Zsombor Garát	|	2	|		|	2	|
Brendan Harris	|		|	2	|		|
Didrik Henbrant	|		|		|		|
Jarod Hilderman	|		|	2	|		|
Jordan Kelsall	|		|		|		|
Bryan Lemos	|	2	|		|		|
Matthew Marcinew	|	1	|		|	2	|
David Noël	|		|	1	|		|
Chase Pearson	|		|	1	|		|
Matthew Spencer	|		|	1	|		|
Joshua Tetlow	|		|		|		|
Cooper Zech	|		|		|		|

Name		G		A		PIM		+/-
Dennis Busby	|		|		|		|
Brendon Clavelle	|		|		|		|
Josh Crawley	|		|		|		|
Brandon Cutler	|		|		|		|
J.D. Dudek	|		|		|		|
Dallas Ehrhardt	|		|		|		|
Kaleb Ergang	|		|		|		|
Rais Francis	|		|		|		|
Brady Gilmour	|	2	|		|		|
Gary Haden	|		|	2	|		|
Tyler Hinam	|		|		|		|
Stephen Johnson	|		|	2	|		|
Kyle Locke	|		|		|		|
Theo Malone	|		|		|		|
Joseph Nardi	|		|		|		|
Zach Sullivan	|		|		|		|
Loren Ulett	|		|		|		|
Nicholas Welsh	|		|		|		|

 

Name		SA		GA		MIN		%
Kevin Carr	|	16	|	2	|	60:00	|	87.50
Luca Sheldon	|		|		|		|

Name		SA		GA		MIN		%
Drew DeRidder	|	44	|	6	|	60:00	|	86.36
Jace Gledhill	|		|		|		|

 

Nottingham Panthers returned to the top of the Elite League standings with a commanding 6-2 win over Manchester Storm at the Motorpoint Arena on Friday night.

The game started in chaotic fashion, with Manchester taking the lead just 11 seconds in. Gary Haden’s quick pass from below the goal line found Stephen Johnson in front, and he made no mistake to put the visitors ahead. The Panthers, however, hit back immediately. At 2:10, Brendan Harris’ backhand took a couple of bounces before beating Drew DeRidder to level the game.

From there, Nottingham took full control. Zsombor Garát fired through traffic at 6:17 to make it 2-1, before doubling his tally exactly two minutes later with a finish from Mitch Fossier’s excellent feed. “Scoring those two in the first period after conceding early was big for the team,” said Garát. “It gave us confidence and allowed us to control the game from there. It feels nice to contribute to the team’s success.”

Matt Marcinew rounded off a dominant first period with the Panthers’ fourth goal just before the 16-minute mark, sending them into the intermission firmly in control. DeRidder, who had allowed only three league goals before this game, saw that number more than double inside 20 minutes.

Bryan Lemos extended Nottingham’s advantage 6:48 into the second period, firing home to make it 5-1. The Panthers continued to dictate the pace and looked confident throughout the middle frame. “We’re happy with the result,” added Garát. “I still don’t think we played for a full 60 minutes, which is what we’re aiming for, but after a tough first shift we bounced back well and really set the tone for the game. We can still improve on our puck and game management, but overall it’s a good result.”

Manchester made it interesting early in the third when Brady Gilmour pulled one back just 31 seconds into the period, but the visitors couldn’t find another to close the gap. David Noël’s strike with just over a minute to play sealed a 6-2 victory for the hosts.

Storm’s stand-in captain Kyle Locke, leading the side with Chase Harrison sidelined, didn’t hide his disappointment after the performance. “We weren’t good enough,” he admitted. “Coming into Nottingham, they’re a good team and their crowd makes it a tough place to play. I don’t think we showed up today, it’s not who we are as a team, and we have to forget this one and look forward. When we do start playing, we’re a dangerous team. We play with the puck, we create offence and we’re tough to play against. But we have to put a full 60 minutes together, and that’s on everyone, myself included. We can all be better. We won’t let that happen again moving forward.”

Despite the result, Locke also spoke about the pride of wearing the ‘C’ in Harrison’s absence: “It’s an honour to be trusted in that regard, to have such a position. I’m incredibly grateful to the staff and team around me for feeling confident in me.”

Garát summed up the importance of the win for the Panthers, who continue to set the pace near the top of the standings: “There’s a long way to go this season, but every win counts. This was huge for us after losing to Manchester in the Cup a few weeks ago, a good character win for the group.”