Challenge Cup defence begins as Panthers return to ice
Nottingham Panthers return to the ice as the season begins tonight. After a loss to the Devils recently, they're eager to prove themselves against the Storm tonight.
The Nottingham Panthers return to where they belong after a long off-season: back on the Motorpoint Arena ice defending their Challenge Cup title.
Across the UK all ten teams are facing off against each other as the battle for the Cup starts anew, each hoping this is the year they can wrestle the Cup away from Danny Stewart's team. The Panthers will be playing the Manchester Storm tonight, a team the black-and-gold home players haven't played since the end of last season when Manchester knocked the Panthers out of the Playoffs.
The 2025/26 season was a strong one for the Nottingham team though, winning the Challenge Cup and Continental Cup.
On his ambitions for this year, Matt Alfaro, returning team captain, told the BBC that "the sky's the limit" and hopes to end the season with all four trophies: adding the Playoffs and Elite League to their successes this year.
There have been some large shake-ups in the team.
Team Captains were announced this week: Matt Alfaro keeps the C embroidery from last year. So do Alternates Ollie Betterridge and Tim Doherty. A new addition to the leadership team is Zsombor Garát, another gentleman the fans were eager to see return.
"I've had all three of [the Alternates] for three years now and the respect we've built up is what we need to make progression. The best teams are player-led groups and I have all the confidence these guys can lead the way," said Danny Stewart.
Both netminders Jason Grande and Kevin Carr have moved on, replaced by Kai Edmonds and Team GB's Mat Robson. Fan favourite Luca Sheldon remains on the roster, to the joy of many. Just seven of the 21 players have taken another shift with the team. A number of the import players arrived in the UK just days before the exhibition matches that were played pre-season, so it's yet clear what kind of team fans can expect.
These games - against French teams Ducs d'Angers and Gothiques d'Amiens - broke the ice for the team. Both games were won handily and revealed a personality shift for the team. Head Coach Stewart spoke in interviews about an appetite for his team to be more "physical", which was on display for those games. The Panthers appeared a little more eager to throw down gloves, which is not a trait you'd find in the 2025/26 roster. Nottingham Panthers has previously had a reputation for playing a clean game, but this year we may see defense-men taking on more of an enforcer role. Fans have had a mixed reaction to this, but only time will tell if this team is a bit more rough-and-tumble.
The final pre-season friendly as played against the Cardiff Devils, who managed to outplay the Panthers to get a 5-2 win.
Sore from that loss, we'll see how the lads perform tonight. There are currently around 700 tickets remaining, ranging from bronze (£25.90) to platinum seating (£43.90).
