Cardiff struck first with a short-handed goal early in the opening period to take a 1–0 lead as Ryan Barrow’s attempted pass deflected past Jason Grande off David Noël’s skate. The visitors were grateful to Ben Bowns, who pulled off an early contender for save of the season to keep them ahead, denying Chase Pearson from point-blank range with his skate.
Bryan Lemos levelled the game just over a minute into period two with a quick shot past Bowns, while Matthew Marcinew’s tip on Matt Spencer’s shot on 25 minutes put Nottingham ahead.
After a great diving defensive stick at one end, the Panthers went up ice and moved 3–1 ahead thanks to David Noël, finding themselves two ahead within 10 minutes of the period. The Devils were handed a four-minute advantage after a high stick on Riley Brandt, and pulled a goal back as former Panther Kristoff Kontos fired from the point on the resulting powerplay.
Jason Grande’s stretch save denied Josh MacDonald an equaliser early in period three, but they didn’t have to wait long to draw level – Nolan Yaremko, in space on the powerplay at 48:18, made it 3–3. Seventy seconds later, Ben Davies was in the right place to put home a deflected shot from the top of the crease and give the Devils the lead. Brandon Estes made it 5–3 with just under 90 seconds to go, while nine seconds later Cole Sanford added gloss to the final scoreline with the Devils’ sixth.
Nottingham Panthers – Cardiff Devils 3:6 Cardiff Devils Nottingham Panthers
Photo: Panthers Images
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