Nottingham panthers have had a remarkable journey in the European tournament, the Continental cup. It was sort of part two of last seasons achievements, so what started in September 2012, has now ended BUT the Panthers should be proud of what they've done on this journey, winning a grand slam, then getting to the big time! They hosted round two in Nottingham last month and did so well to do what they've done. It all came to a close though on Sunday after the eventful trip to Asiago in Italy.
Late Torros goal breaks panthers hearts in frantic game...
Panthers continued their Continental cup ride and round three game one was versus Russian side Torros played a really tight game, which ended in heartbreaks. Steve Lee scored first 4:50 in to put panthers first on the board but Torros ended celebrations quickly, as they scored at 5:04 just 14 seconds later. They made it 3-1 not long after, only for it to get waved off so scores were level at the end of the first. 1-1.
In period two, Torros got that goal back at 24:33 but just like the first period, but this time the other way round, the trailing team, this time panthers, responded quickly. Matt Ryan got the game back to level terms. Before the next break, Torros had another goal waved off to keep things level again
Not long to go in this period and Joe Jensen set up Steve Lee to score his second of the game at 39:20 for Panthers to take a vital lead going into the final 20.
Final period, and at 43:35 the Russians found the net to keep things tight, with everything to play for in this game. The big heartbreaker would come though as Toros scored late on and clinch it, leaving panthers gutted at 58:02 with a minute and 58 seconds to spare. Final score Torros 4-3 Panthers.
A comeback and a bounce back as Panthers get back to winning ways...
Panthers were now in a situation where, if they lost this clash versus Kazakhani side Yertis, it would put them in a very difficult position in the Continental cup! And a bad start saw them fall behind at 11:39 when Yertis found the net.
It stayed that way until the second period when Lynn Lyons scored at 29:20. Then Panthers came pumping back and turned the game around at 31:45 when Brandon Benedict became the hero scoring a great goal to seal off a win for the panthers! Final score: Yertis 1-2 Panthers
Continental cup dream comes to an end in Asiago showdown...
Panthers hopes of making British ice hockey history were on the line during this encounter versus HC Asiago(Italy). These two had met before this last year in pre-season in which goalie Craig Kowalski scored a goal! With Kowalski out injured, injury reserve Neil Conway started between the pipes. It was a bad start for the Panthers, as the end of the first approached they were down 2-0. In the final minute though, panthers got on the score sheet when David Clarke fired home. That completed an action packed first session. In the next period, it was the same man who got panthers right back into this game to make things even, and it was anyone's game now! Nottingham thought they were rolling, but the hosts scored just before the end of the second to put them in the drivers seat with 20 to go! The final period, panthers were desperate with their European dream on the line but despite playing amazingly, Asiago hung on and won to leave panthers gutted and out. But what they have done to get this far has been truly amazing and the whole organisation should be proud. Fans, players, management, sponsors have worked really well as always and will continue that. Well done Nottingham Panthers, you have done British hockey proud!
Posted by Rhys Williams
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