Nottingham Panthers lose playoff tie to Manchester Storm

The Nottingham Panthers lost their two-legged game against the Manchester Storm today, with an aggregate score of 6-5 which went down to the very last penalty shot.

Today was the second game of the quarter finals of the Elite League Playoffs, which is a battle to gain the British Championship title. Last night, Storm managed to eke out a 2:1 win, giving them a one-goal advantage tonight.

The sold-out crowd at the Motorpoint Arena knew what was at stake, and brought as much energy as they possibly could. 6,790 fans were in attendance. Before face-off, a new, quite emotive video was displayed on the Jumbotron showing the success the Panthers have had so far this year.

The game was fast-paced immediately after the first puck drop. Panthers had dexterous control over the puck and stayed in close quarters around DeRidder's goal. It was frenetic and excitable and almost certainly should have led to a goal, but somehow DeRidder stayed cool and protected his post.

It felt very clear this was a game the Nottingham fans were joining part way through: tensions were flammable right away, lingering from last night. Out of the blue, Volcan and Jenion had a scuffle that sent both of them out for 2 minutes. The ice got quite messy for a while after this, with players falling to the floor without much prompting.

Despite the Panthers looking largely in control of the ice, at 5:37 Cutler scored for the Storm.

Shortly after was a very tight manoeuvre between Pearson and Zech that looked both well practiced and natural. The quick pass-pass-pass-again got Pearson right up to the top of the crease but it failed to convert at the last moment.

Shortly after, Lemos is tackled almost over the boards into the away bench, in a way that seemed far too violent, but that the referees seem to think was a-okay.

Fossier scored to the huge relief of the crowd, bringing the game 1:1, but there was still the lingering stress of knowing they were still one goal behind on aggregate.

After the first period bell rang, Marcinew and Locke (who would become the villain of tonight's show) began a fight. Marcinew is tossed to the floor where he loses his helmet and may have hit his head. As the second period starts, both men are sent to the penalty bins, with Marcinew using an ice pack on his head.

Between Marcinew getting into another fight (this time with Hinam), Locke aggressively smashing his stick on the ice in front of Carr, and a very obvious (but uncalled) interference penalty, and later Marcinew being tripped on top of the Storm goalie, this game was certainly a physical one.

The Noël Strategy has seen David Noël become the League's highest scoring defenceman this year, and it was used many times throughout this game. The play goes like this: in enemy territory, a forward glances backwards and sees Noël in prime position. They pass back - with some gusto - and then David smashes the puck at supersonic speeds that often avoid the goalie because they're too darned scared to block it.

The Strategy floundered a number of times today for a few reasons. The first is team members getting in the way. On one occasion, Pearson took the brunt of the blast, and on another (where Noël was quite off target) smacked Henbrant in the ankle forcing him to limp off the ice. (He returned shortly after.) For completion, this play also failed on occasions when the puck should have just been passed rather than shot at the goal.

Of course, it does work sometimes, as it did today: a 2:2 goal came at 38:37 when #28 scored from the blue line.

The Storm manage a Power Play goal, on the back of the Matt Spencer roughing penalty, by 42:58. 2:3 to the Storm.

It was clear to every fan in the room what needed to happen from this point. It was crucial that the team get two goals, which would be enough to push us into overtime. (Three goals would be wonderful, but unlikely.)

At 53:00 their wish got that much closer: Marcinew, who had been through the trenches in this game, stepped up to nab a goal assisted by Fossier and Pearson. 3:3 tonight, but still trailing on aggregate.

At 58:18, the time out call from Danny Stewart came that felt expected. Carr was pulled to the home bench.

Seconds left as the puck kept getting sent back down the wrong end of the arena ice. Then, it happened. Henbrant, assisted by Noël, and Tim Doherty, gets us to 4:3.

The five minute overtime felt like a formality as both 3v3 teams kept decent defence. Hopes were pinned on the penalty shootout.

Unfortunately, those hopes were not to bear fruit. Fossier, who has been our saviour many times in this situation, played with the puck for a moment too long and fumbled it into the hands of the goalie. Gilmour secured the win for the Storm and sends them onto the Semi-Finals next week.