It was a dream start for the hosts, who were two ahead inside seven minutes. A turnover in his own zone forced by Brien Diffley allowed Chase Pearson to set up Brendan Harris for a one-timer to open the scoring at 5:22.
“I thought it was a great effort from us from top to bottom,” began Panthers netminder Kevin Carr, who recorded a shutout. “We were clogging up the neutral zone well, blocking shots and it was a great team effort.”
Just over 90 seconds later, Jakob Stridsberg fired home from the slot after another Steelers turnover to give the hosts a two-goal lead. With 1:51 left before the break, Nolan Volcan’s play to the far post set up Harris for a deflection that beat Matt Greenfield again and put the Panthers three ahead.
“It was obviously not the greatest first period, going three down,” conceded Steelers forward Joona Huttula. “Second and third period I thought it was all us and we didn’t deserve to leave this building three down.”
There was no further scoring in the final 40 minutes, giving the Panthers a three-goal cushion heading into next week’s return leg.
“It was important we stuck to our normal game plan,” added Carr. “It’s a six-period game. You can’t win the tie tonight, but it’s one of those where you can set yourself up for a tough second game. We wanted to stick to the plan and do what we had to do.”
The Steelers will have home advantage but a three-goal deficit to overturn. “Our crowd is amazing, I love our fans and I’m sure they’re going to be behind us,” concluded Huttula. “We are one of the best home teams in the league and I’m sure we can come back.”
Photo: Panthers Images
