Nottingham Panthers stayed top of the Elite League thanks to an overtime win against Guildford Flames at the Motorpoint Arena.
“I thought it was a hard-fought game, all credit to Guildford,” said Matt Marcinew, who scored the overtime winner. “They’re a good team, it’s really hard to get to their net. I thought over the 60 minutes. Guildford didn’t make it easier at all, they are really good at boxing out, their goalie played well, but credit to us as we stuck with it.”
The win kept the Panthers a point clear at the top of the Elite League, while for the Flames it was their ninth point from the last six games.
“It’s tough to lose in OT, but I’m proud of our guys,” said Flames forward Jake Coughler. “We were short staffed and we lost another guy during the game, but we’ve taken three of four points out of this building so far. While we’d have preferred to win, overall we’re happy. One thing about our identity is that we’re resilient, we come to battle every night and it says a lot about our group.”
Taz Burman kept the game scoreless for much of the second period with several strong saves. Against the run of play, the Flames opened the scoring late in the frame when Matt Alvaro capitalised on a turnover, controlled the puck with his skate and fired home with under three minutes remaining.
“Taz has been huge for us,” added Coughler. “We have a guy back there who we can rely on. He’s been a rock, just phenomenal and we’re super lucky to have him.”
Late in the period, Chase Pearson broke through on Burman and wrapped around the net but could not force the puck across the crease as Travis Brown, Jonathan Racine and Jake Jacome blocked the passing lanes.
Tim Doherty tied the game 4:31 into the third period. “The fans are incredible here, and it means the world to us,” added Marcinew. “When Tim scored it gave us some life. We felt the fans behind us, kept firing pucks and making sure we got to the net. It’s important for our group to stick to our game plan and chip away every shift.”
Neither side found a winner in regulation, but Marcinew scored in overtime to secure the extra point for the Panthers. “I was just trying to get a shot through. When it goes in it just feels awesome to bring it home in front of almost 7,000 people. I had family visiting so it made it even more special”.
Jacome concluded: “We probably need to get better quality shots in and around their net. I thought Carr played really well tonight, but if we can get inside the hash marks and keep shooting then the pucks will go in.”
Photo: Panthers Images
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