NOT TINGHAM, UK – The finale of the British hockey season got underway just after 4pm as the Nottingham Panthers faced off against the Cardiff Devils. Panthers coasted into the final hammering Hull 10-3 on Saturday while the Cardiff Devils had to go all the way to penalty shots to overcome the Belfast Giants in the first game of the weekend.
Referee Moray Hanson was officiating in his last game of professional hockey as the 47 year old has announced that he would retiring from the sport after 38 years involvement first as a player for the likes of Murrayfield Racers and Fife Flyers before moving into officiating.
Moray Hanson in his last game
The contest began at a frenetic pace as both sides were eager to stamp their authority on the game as soon as possible. The first genuine chance of the match fell to the Panthers as Jordan Fox forced Stevie Lyle into a smart stop.
Devils had 3 powerplay opportunities in the opening session and Cardiff player/coach Gerad Adams will have been unhappy with the chances his side created when they had the one mad advantage as Panthers penalty kill dealt with everything that was thrown at them rather easily.
Panthers themselves had one powerplay opportunity in the first stanza however Nottingham were unable to tee up Saturday’s hatrick hero David Clarke. The side from the lace city marginally had the better of the first period though as Lyle had to be at his best to deny both Meyers and Benedict.
Game action
Nottingham started the 2nd session on the front foot as Francis almost opened the scoring after 22 minutes of play from close range. Panthers continued to pressurise the Devils defence but found it tough to create many genuine openings.
Devils Dobben went clean through against Stephen Murphy shortly afterwards however the GB international netminder was able to hold his powerful shot. As the 2nd period progressed Panthers iced the puck on a number of occasions as offensively things just went coming off for Corey Neilson’s men.
Panthers did play some nice hockey in the final few minutes of the middle session as Neilson and Benedict linked up well on the attack before a lack lustre final pass. Jordan Fox also had an opportunity when he beat 2 Cardiff players however Lyle was able to deal with his shot.
Nottingham offence
Everything was still to play for as the 3rd period got underway with the 2 sides locked at 0-0. Devils had an early powerplay opportunity after Guy Lepine was penalised for a check from behind however it was Panthers who almost scored as Jordan Fox was once again causing problems for Devils defence.
Nottingham continued to create chances as David Clarke raced up the ice after blocking a shot in his own end to set up Danny Meyers whose effort almost beat Lyle in the Cardiff goal. With time ticking down both sides were eager to find that elusive goal and the deadlock was broken on 52 minutes when David Beauregard (scorer of the game winning goal in last season’s play off final) took his time to fire past Lyle after the puck has fallen to him a few yards out.
Panthers celebrations
Panthers continued to take the game to Devils even after taking the lead as Devils struggled to clear their own zone. Cardiff pulled their netminder with just under a minute left however this tactic backfired as David Clarke fired into the empty net with just 7 seconds of time left in the game.
Nottingham claimed the Play Off Trophy for the 2nd year in succession thanks to the 3rd period goals from David Beauregard and David Clarke.
Scorers –
Nottingham – Clarke and Beauregard 1+0, Benedict 0+1
Cardiff – None
Man of the Match –
Nottingham – Craig Kowalski
Cardiff – Stevie Lyle
Photos courtesy of Colin Edwards
Contact the author – chris.mackenzie@prohockeynews.com
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