Storm hit five past Panthers for first win of season

Photo: Mark Ferris

Manchester Storm opened their Premier Sports Challenge Cup fixtures with an impressive 5-1 home win over Nottingham Panthers on Friday night.

The hosts got off to the perfect start, taking the lead inside 50 seconds - Jesper Ohrvall was the beneficiary of a mix-up in the Panthers' zone, ad pounced on the loose puck to slot home after just 48 seconds.

Joe Hazeldine doubled that lead at 11:14 when he converted Stephen Johnson's backhanded pass across the face of Alex Dubeau's crease on an odd-man rush.  The Panthers were back in the game just over a minute later however when Brett Welychka skated from the red line into the Storm zone and fired high past Hayden Lavigne. 

That was as good as it got for the visitors, however, who were two behind again by the end of the second period - Zac Herrmann and Johnson with goals in the middle period to put the Storm 4-1 ahead. As time ticked down in period three, Panthers coach Gary Graham gambled by pulling his goalie while his team skated 5-on-3, but as time expired on the second penalty the Storm pushed forward ad Tyson Fawcett slotted into the empty net. Lavigne pulled off two excellent saves inside the final minute to keep the visitors to just one goal and cap a 45-save game between the posts.