Manchester Storm scored four first-period goals on their way to a 5-1 win over the Nottingham Panthers on Saturday night, denying the visitors the chance to climb into second place.
The Storm raced into an early lead with two goals in 12 seconds just past the 11-minute mark, before adding two more late in the opening frame. A power-play one-timer from Brady Gilmour and a point shot through traffic from Manchester’s blue line made it 4-0 inside the first 20 minutes.
“They really brought it to us the first 10 minutes, and Drew DeRidder played really, really well and kept us in the game,” said Storm forward Gilmour. “We got a couple of big goals on the power play and were able to get up early. I thought we did a decent job of limiting their Grade A chances and Drew did a really good job like he always does. It was a big win.”
The Panthers responded with a stronger second period, controlling much of the possession but unable to mount a full comeback. DeRidder continued to impress in goal before Tim Doherty pulled one back with around 12 minutes remaining in the period, picking the far corner from the faceoff circle to make it 4-1.
“It didn’t go very well,” said Panthers forward Mitch Fossier. “There was a short stint in the first period where they buried quite a few chances and were opportunistic. I think we just fumbled a lot of pucks. We’ve got to find a way to rally and be ready for tomorrow.”
Despite sustained pressure from the visitors, Manchester held firm through the third period before Nick Welsh scored into an empty net with 4:35 remaining to complete a 5-1 victory.
“I liked our game throughout,” added Gilmour. “We’ll just try to keep building every day and getting a little better, but it was a big win.”
Photo: Mark Ferris
