Manchester Storm kept their hopes of advancing in the Challenge Cup alive with an excellent road win in Nottingham over the Panthers.
On Movie Night in Nottingham, the Panthers didn’t take long to get going – Brendan Harris fired the puck past Evan Weninger just under three minutes in, the shot deflecting off the goal frame as it was played out from behind the net.
Storm thought they might have equalised at 5:45, but with no overhead video angle there was no clear evidence to determine whether the puck had crossed the goal line as Jason Grande sprawled on the ice. They did, however, tie the game just 30 seconds later when Brendon Clavelle’s shot was tipped past Grande by Gary Haden.
“We’ve been playing well over the past few weeks and coming out on the wrong side of some tight games,” began Storm’s Zach Sullivan, who was marking his 600th Elite League appearance in Nottingham. “Our coach came in before the game and told us to keep doing what we’ve been doing well. We had things to sharpen up on, and it was a real team effort. We had some huge blocks, all four lines going, and everyone bought in. There was no quit and we were determined to come out on the right side tonight.”
Harrison Caines then broke through on Grande but saw his shot held just short of the line as Storm continued to create good opportunities.
Manchester were not undeserving of going ahead at 28:31 when Haden got onto a loose puck in front and beat Grande to give the visitors the lead. David Noël levelled things just over two minutes later, but two Storm goals in five minutes put them firmly in control. Brady Gilmour finished excellently past Grande at 32:53 to restore the advantage, before setting up Chase Harrison in front to make it 4–2 with 2:35 left in period two.
Kevin Carr replaced Grande for the third period and denied Stephen Johnson with a fine glove save three and a half minutes in to keep the Panthers within two.
The 6,454-strong crowd at the Motorpoint Arena thought the comeback might be on when Mitch Fossier neatly finished from Bryan Lemos’ feed at 52:42, but around 90 seconds later Kaleb Ergang beat Carr to restore Manchester’s two-goal cushion. Joseph Nardi found the empty net with 51 seconds remaining to seal a memorable 6–3 road win for the Storm.
“There’s a lot of belief in our room, and whether we have Weninger or DeRidder in net we have a lot of confidence in our goaltending,” added Sullivan. “We’ve not been letting in many goals, and it was just a matter of finding the net. We had some great individual performances tonight, but everyone banded together. When we stick to our game plan, we’re a tough team to play against.”
Photo: Panthers Images
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