Panthers take race for sixth into final game

Photo: Mark Ferris

The race for sixth place in the 2022/23 Viaplay Elite League will go down to Saturday after Nottingham Panthers came away from Manchester with a 4-1 win over the Storm.

The opening 20 minutes produced no goals but wasn't short of chances. The best of the period arguably fell to Scott Simmonds on a shorthanded breakaway which was well-saved by Peyton Jones, while at the opposite end a bouncing puck seemed to hit Jeremy Brodeur's skate and bounced just away from the goal line.

The Panthers took the lead in the second on a strange play where Kelly Summers' stick broke as he let his slapshot fly, but he got enough on the puck to see it fly into Brodeur's top corner to give the visitors the lead at 36:43.

Period three saw the Storm pile pressure on Jones' net. He pulled off a string of excellent saves off the stick of Finlay Ulrick three plays in a row to keep his side ahead with Archie Hazeldine's smart defensive play also foiling a Storm breakaway. A delay of game call on Hazeldine gave Storm a two-minute advantage to tie the game, but things went the other way as Jakub Ižacký sniped into Brodeur's top shelf to put the Panthers two ahead shorthanded with 8:11 to play. However, 15 seconds later Storm did get their powerplay goal finished off by captain Cam Critchlow.

Chase Harrison missed a golden chance to level the game with under four minutes to play but shot over from the slot as Manchester pushed hard in the closing stages, but a turnover in their own zone from the Storm gifted the puck to David Levin to put Nottingham back two ahead with 2:07 to play. Former Storm forward converted a rebound past Brodeur to add some gloss to the scoreline before the final buzzer.

The result sets up a 'winner takes all' clash on Saturday as the teams fight it out for sixth place.