NOTTINGHAM, UK. The Nottingham Panthers have once again returned to winning ways taking nine points from a possible ten and have advance to the semi-final of the Challenge Cup, this has come at a cost and once again key personnel have found themselves side lined by injury.
Last weekend saw the Panthers demolish the Edinburgh Capitals 6-1 in a game that gave birth to one of the most controversial moments of the EIHL in recent years. Former Panther Joe Grimaldi was at the epicentre of events and it has to be seen to be believed (click here).
The incident on the night resulted in 67 minutes of penalties and five minute power play though it is fair to say both teams looked stunned and the rest of the game passed with little to write home about. The EIHL have issued Grimaldi an 18 game ban and the Capitals will play an import short for 10 games, it should however be commended that the Edinburgh management acted quickly and terminated Grimaldi’s contract within 24 hours of the incident.
The following night saw the Panthers take home a point on the road to the Coventry Blaze after an epic 12 round shoot out. The loss saw their winning streak curtailed at four. Wednesday night saw the Fife Flyers travelling to the Capital FM arena to face Nottingham in the second round of the Challenge Cup Quarter final with a 7-2 deficit to overcome from the first round. Both teams seemed to perform sluggishly as if they had put the game to bed in the round one. The Flyers took the game 6-4 but it wasn’t enough to advance to the next round.
A sluggish game or not, the Flyers match up has generated major problems for Panthers head coach Corey Neilson, just as he has appeared to have found momentum for the title race. After taking an illegal hit forward, Chris Higgins suffered an aggravation of the injury that saw him sit out the opening months of the season. It is unclear when he will return but it’s a blow for both Higgins and Neilson as the talented front man was elevating his performances with every game he played. Several other Panthers are nursing minor injuries and Neilson will be hoping that they don’t mature into anything more serious.
Controversy and injury woes aside there is good news in Nottingham, firstly stalwart netminder Craig Kowalski has returned to active service allowing the Panthers the luxury of two elite import netminder’s to choose from going into game nights. Matias Modig has proved himself a worthy starting goalie and may well improve further with competition from Kowalski driving him to develop. Neilson also responded quickly to the loss of Higgins signing the EIHL all-star Guillaume Ducet to fill the void. Ducet played in the EIHL last year for the Hull Stingrays tallying 50 goals and 31 assists and with that kind of form Neilson will be hoping that the Panthers will be able to maintain the momentum Higgins was a part of generating.
It’s been an exciting week in Nottingham and the EIHL, the Panthers have two key games this weekend against the Sheffield Steelers and the Cardiff Devils both of whom are edging the Panthers in the top five of the EIHL standings making wins critical for Nottingham to leapfrog them and to make headway up the table. With just a six point difference across the leading pack of five, there won’t be many dead rubber match ups in the weeks ahead.
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