NOTTINGHAM, UK – The 2011 Elite League Play Off weekend has to be one of the most entertaining finales there has been to a British season in recent years. Fans were treated to three top quality games of hockey with 21 goals in the Elite League games with another 10 goals in the England v Scotland under 19 match. Supporters certainly had enough to cheer about over the course of the showpiece event.
In recent years many play off games have gone down to penalty shots which for me always feels like a false way to end the campaign thankfully this year none of the games needed to be decided in a shoot out. The first game of the weekend saw the Elite League Champions the Sheffield Steelers take on the home side the Nottingham Panthers. Sheffield started the better as Ben Simon’s side held a 2-0 lead by the 5th minute however Panthers showed their resolve to level up the game by the end of the first.
Action from Steelers v Panthers
A scoreless middle session meant both sides went into the 3rd playing to keep their season alive. Jeff Heerema fired Nottingham ahead on 48 minutes only for Ben Simon to level things up under a minute later. Neither side was able to find a winning goal in regulation so the tie went into sudden death over time and Panthers young British forward Robert Lachowicz netted the game winning goal after just under 62 minutes of action.
The 2nd semi final did not have the drama of the Steelers/Panthers match as Gerad Adams Cardiff Devils were able to overcome Belfast Giants reasonably comfortably. Giants offensive lines had to be re jigged as Belfast were without star import Brandon Benedict and Scottish forward Marc Garside. This meant that blue liners Mike Hoffman and Graham Walton played on the 3rd forward unit a move which seemed to unsettle Doug Christiansen’s team.
Face off as Devils take on Giants
Once Cardiff held a 2 goal lead I couldn’t see Belfast getting back into the game as the Welshmen were restricting the Giants to few genuine goalscoring opportunities. Devils ran out 4-1 winners to book their place in the Play Off final on Sunday afternoon.
An Under 19 international between England and Scotland was the first game to be played on the Sunday. The England side looked to be a lot more experienced than their Scottish counterparts as the English side had a number of players who had picked up some ice time in the Elite League as Ross Venus (Coventry Blaze), Callum Davies (Newcastle Vipers) and Jack Watkins (Coventry Blaze) were all included on the England roster.
Ross Venus in action for England under 19s
Scotland did well in the opening period of the contest as the score was still tied at 0-0 after 20 minutes of action. However England soon found a way through the Scottish defence as Luke Brittle, Josh Ward and Luke Ferrera were amongst the scorers as England began to dominate the game. England eventually ran out 10-0 winners in front of a sizeable crowd at the National Ice Centre.
Once again Nottingham got off to a poor start in the Play Off Final as Cardiff were 2 goals to the good by the 11th minute. Panthers team spirit and desire was there for all to see as Rob Bellamy and David Beauregard drove Nottingham back into the game. At the end of the 2nd period Cardiff still held a slim 1 goal lead however Nottingham came out and turned the game on its head in the final session.
Panthers Rob Bellamy
Panthers drew level just 4 minutes into the 3rd period when Billy Ryan found a way past Stevie Lyle in the Devils goal and when David Beauregard netted from what appeared to be a near impossible angle on 48 minutes to fire Nottingham into the lead the roof was nearly lifted off the N.I.C.
Devils gave everything they had to get back into the game however just as Cardiff were putting some pressure on the Panthers defence the side from the Welsh capital ran into penalty trouble. Star defenceman Craig Weller was harshly sin binned for elbows with just over 2 minutes remaining in the game. This call infuriated Cardiff forward Scott Matzka so much so that the feisty forward was given a 10 minute plus game misconduct penalties for his reaction to the call on Weller.
David Beauregard with the Play Off Trophy
Cardiff’s captain Ryan Finnnerty was then given a minor penalty for slashing with only a minute of the game remaining which meant that Devils were on a 5 on 3 penalty kill as they were looking to find a goal to tie the game. Unsurprisingly Cardiff could not find the equalising goal and Nottingham were able to claim the Play Off crown thanks to their 5-4 victory.
Nottingham Panthers endured an extremely tough 2010/11 campaign however in the end player/coach Corey Neilson was able to lead his side to 2 trophies and a 4th place finish in the Elite League which is a great achievement for any side in the British game. Neilson has received much criticism over the course of the season due to Panthers poor league form however the Canadian defenceman was able to silence his critics by claiming the Play Off title in a superbly contested final.
Contact the author – chris.mackenzie@prohockeynews.com
Images courtesy of Paul Lynch Photography
You must be logged in to post a comment.