30 Mar 2024, 19:00 | Regular season | Motorpoint Arena Nottingham |
Nottingham Panthers | 4-1 | Coventry Blaze |
Periods: Shots: | 2-0 (6-7) | 2-1 (11-6) | 0-0 (4-15) | Total: 21-28 |
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Referees: Pering/Wells  |  Spectators: 5887 |
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Goals and assists
Nottingham Panthers' second win of the week took them to within two
points of a playoff place as they beat Coventry Blaze 4-1 in front of
5,887 fans at the Motorpoint Aena.
The Panthers came flying out of
the traps in a game they knew they couldn’t afford to lose, and were
good value for their two-goal lead after the first period. Hugo Roy had
already hit the post in the early stages before the home side’s
dominance finally told – a looping puck off an Olli Betteridge shot
eventually deflected into the net off a high stick, but as it belonged
to Blaze’s Kobe Roth the goal was correctly given at 13:41. Just over
two minutes later, Mathieu Lemay almost scored a contender for goal of
the season with some impressive dangles, but Alessio Luciani followed up
on the rebound and saw his shot deflect past Taran Kozun to double the
lead.
That Panthers pressure continued into period two. They went three
ahead 8:55 into period two as an Otto Nieminen shot deflected off
Stephen Anderson at the back post. It could have been more were it not
for a combination of Kozun and blocks, but Coventry did eventually get
themselves a goal through Ian McNulty with 4:57 left in the period. Hugo
Roy restored the home side's two-goal advantage with 1:26 to play to
have them 4-1 ahead through 40 minutes.
Coventry had an early powerplay in period three to try and get
back nito things but to n oavail. When Stojanovič was called for
Tripping with 3:02 to play, Danny Stewart called his timeout and pulled
Kozen to go 6-on-4. Unfortunately for the visitors, however, it still
couldn't find them a way back into the game. The Panthers were clapped
home by their fans for a full two minutes until the final buzzer as they
recorded a huge win in terms of the playoff push.
Coventry hang
onto a playoff place by virtue of having played less games than Glasgow,
although the Blaze travel to Guildford on Sunday. If they fail to pick
up any points there, they will drop out of the top eight.