Storm step in to Nottingham for first game back
Photo: Panthers Images
Manchester Storm agreed to step into Nottingham on Friday morning to enable the Panthers to fulfill a scheduled home fixture.
The Panthers' game against Coventry was called off early on Friday with the Blaze entering COVID-19 protocol. The two teams will meet again tomorrow with Nottingham stepping in to fill the Storm's home void left by Sheffield also being in protocol.
This will be the teams' first league meeting of the season. They contested four in the Premier Sports Challenge Cup through which the Panthers come out with a 2-1-0-1 record. Their recent form however hasn't been good - with three straight league losses seeing the team slip to sixth overall with an exact .500 record.
Manchester have one of the league's best home records but have struggled away from the Shelter managing only three points from eight outings. Prior to their protocol break, the fifth-placed team had picked up seven points out of eight.
Special teams have been the Panthers' problem this season. Their powerplay sits at 14.89% (#9 overall; Storm #5 18.42%), while the penalty kill has improved slightly to 77.61% (#7 overall; Storm #8 76.67%).
