Alfaro wins it in OT

Photo: Panthers Images

Nottingham Panthers ended a three-game loss streak with an overtime win over Belfast Giants.

The visitors were heavily delayed on their flight to England, meaning that the game faced off some 80 minutes after the scheduled 7pm start.

The only goal of the opening period went the way of the hosts -Jaakko Niskala finding himself in space at the point and shooting through traffic at 7:34.

The Panthers stayed up by one into the third period until they were pegged back by Scott Conway early in period three. A stick save from Ryan Bednard off an Elijiah Barriga shot fell to Conway to bat the puck out of the air 1:46 into the third to tie the game.

Josh Tetlow's excellent pass found Reid Stefanson in space to beat Tom McCollum and put the Panthers back ahead at 44:49. 

However, a Mark Cooper snipe from the wing beat Bednard top shelf at 50:28 to level things once more.

Late in the third, Pierre-Olivier Morin was ejected for a Check to the Head on Tim Doherty, giving the Panthers a powerplay for the final 21 seconds of regulation and most of overtime. In the bonus period, the Giants held out for over two minutes until Matt Alfaro made use of the extra space and beat McCollum to win it for the Panthers at 62:23.