Flyers v Panthers

Match Report

Nottingham Panthers won 4-1 on the road at Fife Flyers to close the gap on Elite League leaders Belfast Giants to five points.

Netminder Jason Grande turned away 28 of the 29 shots he faced and set a franchise record for the most consecutive time played without conceding.

Grande, who had previously secured back-to-back shutouts against Belfast and Dundee Stars, wasn't beaten for 170 minutes and 57 seconds until conceding a powerplay goal late in the second period.

Jaakko Niskala put Panthers from the left-circle after good work by Kristoff Kontos and Matt Spencer (04:19).

Sam Herr and Tim Doherty went close as Panthers dominated much of the opening period.

Grande made a good stop to deny former Panther Massimo Carozza early in the second session.

A great skate from Herr who wrapped around the net set-up Matt Spencer for a bullet of a shot from just inside the blueline (35:02).

Fife got on the board through Kieran Craig's tip on the powerplay just before the second intermission (39:12).

Doherty fed Herr on the doorstep to score on a five-on-three powerplay (56:20) and the Panthers captain wrapped the game up with an empty-net goal (59:15).