Coventry Blaze secured their place in the Challenge Cup Semi-Finals with a point, while Nottingham Panthers claimed the two points they needed to reach the Elimination Game, following a dramatic encounter at the Motorpoint Arena on Wednesday night.
“I thought we handled the game well, to be honest,” began Blaze’s David Clements. “We had a game plan, we knew that Nottingham would throw the kitchen sink at us with the situation they were in, and they’re a tough team to play in their own building. We’re still a bit gutted that we let that one in with 40 seconds left, but we’re so happy to be through to the Semi-Finals. Huge credit to the guys, they battled really hard tonight.”
The Panthers needed a last-gasp equaliser to keep them in the game. “It’s huge for the team – we have another lifeline here in the Cup,” began Panthers’ Ollie Betteridge, who scored the late tying goal. “It would have been nice to win in regulation, but we’ll take the win overall and battle to get ourselves into the Semi-Final.”
Coventry led 1-0 after 20 minutes despite being outshot 12-8. The visitors started the stronger and took the lead when Connor Russell fired home from the point off a feed from Jack Hopkins. The Blaze were handed a 5-on-3 powerplay and came close through Alessio Luciani, who hit the post, but Kevin Carr stood firm in the Panthers’ net. Nottingham grew into the period after the power break, with Jarod Hilderman going close when he hit the side netting.
A hooking minor on Ivan Chukarov gave Nottingham a powerplay early in period two, and they needed just eight seconds to capitalise – David Noël’s shot from the blue line was tipped in front of Mat Robson by Tim Doherty to level the scores.
Coventry regained the lead shortly after through an unusual sequence that saw Ross Armour called for interference when his stick made contact with a breakout pass from the bench. On the ensuing powerplay, Chukarov’s shot was blocked by Carr but looped up into the air and was batted home in front – with both Kim Tallberg and Matthew Gleason swinging at the puck in close.
Mack Stewart came close to adding a third early in the final period, but Carr made an excellent diving stop to deny his wraparound attempt. At the other end, Robson produced several key saves to keep Coventry ahead, including a point-blank stop on Matt Marcinew inside the final five minutes.
“We knew that on the road we weren’t here to entertain. We needed to play within our structure, manage the puck and the blue lines,” added Clements. “I thought we did a really good job of not turning many pucks over. They had a lot of shots from the outside, and then we had Mat Robson stand on his head when he needed to.”
With Carr pulled for the extra skater, Nottingham tied the game in the final minute – Ollie Betteridge eventually forcing the puck home in a goalmouth scramble with 41 seconds to play, earning the hosts the point they needed to extend their Challenge Cup campaign.
Both teams had chances in overtime, with Carr denying Colton Saucerman from close range before Grant Mismash was forced to take a holding minor to prevent a Panthers breakaway. Neither side could find a winner during the extra frame, sending the game to a shootout.
“We knew this was a playoff game. It was one of those games where it was all or nothing – we had to play the way we know we can, put in a 60-minute performance, and I think we played really well tonight,” explained Betteridge. “We battled until the end and didn’t give up, and managed to pull it off in the shootout.
“We know we have to win one more game now to make the Semi-Finals, but it’s a good feeling for the group to have that comeback.”
Photo: Panthers Images
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