Panthers end negative streak with home win

Photo: Panthers Images

Nottingham Panthers ended their four-game losing streak with an impressive 4-1 home win against Cardiff Devils on Sunday afternoon at the Motorpoint Arena, avenging their 5-2 defeat less than 24 hours earlier.

It was the Panthers who made the better start and deservedly led after the opening 20 minutes. 9:45 had been played when Ollie Betteridge's quick hands too him to three goals in as many games to put the Panthers ahead. Cardiff struggled to get much going in the first 20 and were often called for icing when trying to break out of their own zone.

It was a different story in the opening part of period two, however, as the Devils brought heavy pressure on Kevin Carr's net. 5:53 into period two Trevor Cox nicely deflected Jake Coughler's shot past Carr to tie the game on the powerplay as Matthew Myers sat a tripping minor.

Myers was back in the box for goalie interference at 31:04, but after a good Panthers' kill Mark Louis coughed up the puck on his own blueline allowing Myers to skate through and beat Carruth high to put the Panthers back ahead. Josh Tetlow almost had the Panthers further ahead but missed the target, however with 1:40 left in the period Christophe Boivin slapped home from the point four seconds into a powerplay to make it 3-1.

Boivin grabbed his second of the game with a powerplay shot that deflected past Carruth off Josh Batch's stick. Head Coach Skalde challenged the goal for possible goaltender interference, but the gamble back fired the goal standing and the Devils then forced to go back on the penalty kill. Carruth denied Boivin's hat trick with a smart pad save before a scuffle in front of the Devils' netminder on the next play saw Mark Loiuis ejected for continuing an altercation.

Boivin didn't manage to get his third of the game but did take Man of the Match for the hosts.