Panthers force final cup game decider

Photos: Panthers Images

Nottingham Panthers ensured that the last remaining automatic place in the Challenge Cup Quarter-Finals will be decided in the final game of Group C tomorrow night in Manchester with a home win against the Storm.

Period one ended level with a goal from each side in the opening 20 minutes. Kyle Hope’s opener after 4:18 was cancelled out by Sam Herr poking home from close range at 13:17. The Panthers would then turn the game around midway through period two, a sixth goal for Jake Hansen in as many games putting his team ahead at 28:58.

When Georgs Golovkovs found the bottom corner of Adam Ginn’s net 3:18 into the final period the Panthers opened up some breathing space, and then Sam Herr made the win safe with a shorthanded effort just under three minutes from the final buzzer.

The Panthers’ win sets up a grandstand finish to Group C of the cup, with the sides meeting again tomorrow to decide who will finish second – and who will face who face Coventry in the ‘Play-In’ Round.  

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