Henbrant hat trick gets Panthers past Devils

Photo: Panthers Images

Didrik Henbrant scored a hat trick to give Nottingham Panthers a 3-1 home win over Cardiff Devils, and end their three-game loss streak.

It was the Panthers' second win over the Devils at the Motorpoint Arena this season, having previously beaten them in the Challenge Cup.

The game was late starting by some 90 minutes after the Devils team was delayed in traffic en route to the Motorpoint Arena. Ending the first period scoreless was about as good as a scoreline as the visitors would have hoped for under the circumstances.

Henbrant's first of the evening game just under two minutes into second period. The Swede took Kristoff Kontos' pass on a 2-on-1 rush and beat Ben Bowns high to open the scoring at 21:55. 

Brett Perlini scored against his former team to level things nine minutes later with a shot that beat Ryan Bednard through the screen of Reid Duke in front. 

Two goals in just over four minutes earned the hosts the points in the final period. Henbrant did everything himself for his second of the game, deking past two Devils defensemen before finishing high at 53:16 to give the Panthers the lead. He then broke between to Devils and popped the water bottle for his hat trick goal 2:32 from the final buzzer to complete the hat trick!