Nottingham Panthers beat Glasgow Clan in the Challenge Cup Elimination Game for the second straight season, winning 4-1 on the road to book their place in the Semi-Finals.
“We were a bit short coming up here, playing a good team, but we just wanted to stick to what makes us good: getting pucks behind them, making good decisions and sticking to our jobs in our own zone,” began Panthers forward Matt Marcinew, who ended the game with a goal and two assists. “You hope you’ll get some good looks, but honestly I thought we did a really good job of attacking to our game tonight and I think that showed on the scoreboard.
Period one was a tight affair with few clear scoring chances at Braehead Arena. The Panthers created the better of the limited opportunities and struck the post early, but the quick video review showed the puck had not come close to crossing the goal line.
The visitors took the lead 2:11 into period two when David Noël’s throw on net from the point went all the way through and beat Sami Aittokallio five-hole. Clan struggled on a couple of powerplays but continued to build pressure, and deservedly levelled through an excellent individual effort from Tristin Langan as he drove the net and pulled Kevin Carr out of position at 34:40. Cade Neilson looked set to put the Clan ahead shortly after, but Cooper Zech’s well-timed hooking minor prevented him from shooting into an open net.
Clan were punished late in the period when they failed to clear their zone, allowing Didrik Henbrant to work the puck to Marcinew in front for a finish that restored the Panthers’ lead with 13 seconds left.
“It was tight there for a long time,” continued Marcinew, whose goal ended up being the game-winner. “We got one, they got one and it was back and forth really quickly. To get that one before the end of the second was great, and then we got that insurance goal in the third which was a bit of a back-breaker for them with seven or so minutes to go.”
After absorbing Clan pressure through the early part of period three, Nottingham struck on the break. Cooper Zech’s pass was deflected past Aittokallio by Matt Spencer with 7:14 remaining to give the visitors a two-goal cushion.
“We stuck to it. It feels great and shows a lot about this group and the character and resilience we have. To come up here, play a good team when we’re running eight or nine forwards,” added Marcinew.
Corey Neilson called his timeout with 3:28 to play as the Clan searched for two late goals, and Aittokallio was pulled for the extra skater. Jared Hilderman denied Brett Neumann to stop an immediate reply, while Tim Doherty came close to scoring from his own zone as he cleared the puck off the glass. On the next play, Doherty did find the empty net with 2:23 remaining to seal Nottingham’s progression to the Semi-Finals.
The Panthers will play Sheffield in the Semi-Finals. Marcinew concluded; “We feel good. Sheffield are a team that we know, and hopefully we get some bodies back by that time. We’ve played them a few times and it’ll be a dog fight. Some have gone our way, others have gone theirs, but we’re really excited for it. It’s really important for us.”
Photo: Al Goold
