It’s certainly been a mixed start to the news season for last season’s Elite Ice Hockey League winners, Nottingham Panthers, Danny Stewart’s charges having won five and lost four of their nine Challenge Cup outings, and winning one losing one of their two league games.

The Challenge Cup got underway back in mid-September, the Panthers slipping to three defeats in their opening four games, the only win registered being a 3-1 success away to Manchester Storm.

Stewart’s charges though turned that around in their next five, winning four tines against Guildford Flames (6-5 at home), Coventry Blaze (3-0 away), Cardiff Devils (5-0) and rivals Sheffield Steelers (4-2 away).

The win against the Steelers, last Wednesday (8 October) night, was achieved after first Tim Doherty tied the game at the end of the first period, Nolan Volcan gave them a 2-1 lead late in the second, before a busy third saw the Panthers notch another two points.

David Noel notched the third Panthers score before Zsombor Garat added the fourth in the closing minutes; Robert Dowd and a deflected Brien Diffley effort gave the Steelers their two scores.

The two points for the Panthers though keeps their hopes of qualification for the knock-out stages alive with one more game still to play, at home to Coventry Blaze, later this month (22 October).

With all that Challenge Cup action it would be easy to forget that the Elite League season has also begun, the Panthers having already played twice there as well.

The season opener, in late September, saw the Panthers ease to a 6-1 win away to Guildford Flames, a couple of days prior to the 6-5 win over the same in the cup; the league game though saw a dominant performance from the Panthers as Chase Pearson netted twice and Bryan Lemos scored once with two assists.

It would be Lemos who’d get the ball rolling, or puck sliding, with the only score of the first period, cutting across before firing past Taz Burman late in the opening period.

The game came to life in the second period however, the Panthers firing in four times to take control; three in a devastating, six-minute spell set the game alight as Brendan Harris, Mitch Fossier, and Ross Armour all netted, Pearson netting his first late in the period for a five-goal lead.

Mathieu Gosselin grabbed a consolation for the Flames early in the third period before Pearson grabbed his second, and the Panthers’ sixth, at the backdoor, six minutes later, to restore the five-goal lead, and cap a fine, opening night performance, and victory.

The home opener however results in a 3-2OT loss to visitors Cardiff Devils, a tight encounter which saw neither side register in the first period, before Brendan Harris and Mitch Fossier scored in the second to put the Panthers in-front.

The opening score came when Tim Doherty fed the puck to Harris and he cut across and fired low under Blaze netminder, Ben Browns, then Fossier added the second when converting a penalty shot.

A rebound effort from Riley Brandt, and Ryan Barrow’s late leveller for the Devils though sent the contest to overtime, with both Fossier and Lemos l=seeing chances go amiss before the Devils snatched it with Barrow’s second of the game after sixty-two minutes.

The Panthers travel to Scotland for the next two, Elite League outings, opposing Fife Flyers (15 October) and Dundee Stars (18 October), before the latter of those, the Stars, travel to Nottingham the following (19 October) night.

Later on this season, in January 2026, the Nottingham Panthers will welcome Europe’s elite to the region, for the IIHF Continental Cup Finals.

Joining the Panthers already are Kazakhstan’s HC Torpedo, Poland’s GKS Katowice, and Denmark’s Herning Blue Fox.

With three games scheduled for 14-17 January, the four qualifiers will be joined by the top-two sides from November’s four-team, second-round group qualifiers, overall sides will make up the six-team final.

Two games are set for that of 14, 15 and 16 January, the Panthers playing the runners-up of Group C (14/01), followed by GKS Katowice (16/01), whilst finals day (17/01) sees a Third Place Blue v. Third Place Red tie, followed by the Bronze Medal Game between Blue Group RU vs. Red Group RU.

The final is scheduled for 19:00 between the winners of the two groups; information for this, and more, can be found via the Panthers website HERE.

*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).

*Main image @PanthersIHC the Panthers have won/lost 50% of their games so far this season.