Panthers v Storm

Match Report

Nottingham Panthers were beaten 3-1 by Manchester Storm in the Challenge Cup on Sunday afternoon.

A special tribute took place ahead of face-off to remember our 47 Adam Johnson. The crowd chanted his name as his photo was displayed on the jumbotron as part of the player introductions and an emotional 47 seconds of applause followed just ahead of the National Anthem.

Ryan Bednard got the start between the pipes with Luca Sheldon as back-up. Cooper Zech remains out of action with a lower body injury.

Storm lead after first period
Manchester took the lead after 29 seconds when Loren Ulett scored through the five-hole from the slot.

Panthers dominated much of the rest of the period with Davis Bunz and Tim Doherty both going close, while Sam Herr and Didrik Henbrant went close on the powerplay.

Late in the session, Storm nearly doubled their lead but Tyler Hinam hit the pipes.

Kontos scores but Storm increase their advantage
Hugo Roy, Otto Nieminen and Ollie Betteridge had chances as Panthers built momentum and the equaliser arrived when Matt Spencer fed Kristoff Kontos to score on the breakaway (27:50).

Storm scored short-handed on the odd-man rush as Stephen Johnson set-up Hinam (35:36) and Ulett made it 3-1 from the left-circle on a delayed penalty (39:34).

Storm secure two points
Bednard made a good save to stop Alexis D'Aoust's effort on the powerplay early in the third period.

Panthers pushed hard to find a way back into the game with chances for Herr, Nieminen and Roy but Storm secured the two points.