Nottingham Panthers 5-2 Dundee Stars (Elite League) 30.01.22

After a disappointing run of late, the Nottingham Panthers got themselves back in the win column with a 5-2 victory over the Dundee Stars inside the Motorpoint Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The Panthers lost 5-1 at Cardiff Devils on Saturday night which followed double league defeat against rivals Sheffield and Glasgow Clan the week previous, the Panthers despite reaching the final four of the Challenge Cup also lost to Guildford Flames in the second leg and were beaten in overtime by Dundee Stars in Scotland two weeks ago to set a run of five straight losses.

This after Nottingham set a run of five wins on the bounce after Coach Tim Wallace was relieved of his duties at the start of the year.

Against Dundee, Kevin Carr got the start in goal for the Panthers opposite Adam Morrison for the Stars.

Matt Lane (3.37) got Nottingham off to the perfect start as he beat Morrison from the slot before getting his, and the Panthers, second of the opening period (6.42) to make it 2-0 in favour of the hosts.

Dundee however didn’t let their heads drop & a brace from Spencer Dorowicz (10.34 & 18.39) threatened to send the teams into the first intermission tied, but Jeremy Welsh (18.50) had other ideas. The forward picking up the rebound from Christophe Boivin’s initial shot & firing it across the line to make it 3-2 Nottingham after one period of play.

Jordan Kelsall (26.37) finished off a lovely cross-ice feed from Sean Richards to restore the Panthers’ two-goal advantage before things started to get chippy.

Charlie Combs (slashing – 32.20) & Matthew Myers (cross-checking – 32.20) were both sent to the penalty box after getting into it next to the Stars’ bench before Mathieu Tousignant & Markus Kankaanpera locked horns as the hooter blew on the second frame.

A tense final period saw little in the way of clear scoring chances until, with Morrison pulse din favour of the extra-attacker, Christophe Boivin (58.57) shot into the empty net to seal the points and a much needed win for the Panthers.

More good news announced after the match, as defenceman Kevin Massey joins for the remainder of the 2021/22 Elite League campaign.

Standing at 6’4″ Kevin joins the Panthers from Anglet, who play in the French Ligue Magnus, where he led the team in points with 22 (five goals, 17 assists) in 30 games.

*Main image @PanthersIHC Jordan Kelsall shoots against the Stars.