DURHAM, UK – Corey Neilson’s Nottingham Panthers have made a superb start to the 2011/12 campaign lying in joint 2nd place in the Elite League Standings and topping their Challenge Cup Group after picking up a victory over their bitter rivals the Sheffield Steelers last Sunday evening.
Panthers have attracted much criticism in recent years as the side from the National Ice Centre have often spent huge amounts of money to attract top players without ever assembling a roster that has been able to claim the Elite League Championship. Sharp shooters such as Jade Galbraith, Rob Bellamy, Dan Tessier and Johan Molin have all iced in the lace city during the past few years without ever being able to propel Panthers to the top of the British game.
However Nottingham’s display against Sheffield Steelers last weekend was hugely impressive and if Panthers can continue to perform in the way they did at the Sheffield Arena they will surely be challenging for the Elite League title at the business end of the campaign.
Neilson in action
Corey Neilson has to be given credit as he has assembled one of the most rounded squads in British hockey and the strength in depth of Nottingham’s British contingent stands out. Four of Panthers Brits (plus Neilson himself) were involved in Britain’s Silver Medal winning campaign in the 2011 World Championships in the Ukraine and when is it considered that there are also many dependable home grown players such as Stevie Lee, Dan Green and Marc Levers in their ranks it becomes clear just how much quality Panthers have on their current roster.
Panthers are also not afraid to use their Brits on specialist lines throughout key match ups. Marc Levers was often utilised on the top penalty killing unit against Sheffield while both Danny Meyers and Stevie Lee both patrolled the blue line on many occasions when Steelers had the man advantage. The policy of assigning key penalty killing roles to the likes of the ever dependable Levers and even Canadian enforcer Guy Lepine allowed the more offensively talented players on the Panthers roster the opportunity to fully focus on causing problems for the Steelers back line which they did to great affect throughout the contest.
On looking through the latest stats Panthers seem to be well covered at both ends of the rink as Nottingham have outscored every other Elite League side so far this season as well as having a solid netminder in Craig Kowalski who currently has an impressive 93.2% save percentage. It has to be noted that Nottingham have 5 of the top 10 marksmen in the entire League with Scott Champagne leading the way with a total of 23 points from the 15 games he has played in.
Nottingham look to have their best chance in years to finally lift the Elite League Championship this season however other top sides such as the Belfast Giants, Coventry Blaze and the Sheffield Steelers all have more than enough quality to fight it out with Corey Neilson’s Panther at the top of the standings throughout the 2011/12 campaign. Image courtesy of Paul Lynch Photography
Contact the author – chris.mackenzie@prohockeynews.com
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