Two defeats end Clan’s bid to make the playoffs
Guildford Flames..................3 Braehead Clan......................1
Braehead Clan’s fate was confirmed on Saturday night as they missed out on the post season for the first time in their history.
Clan’s defeat, combined with Coventry Blaze’s 7-4 victory at Manchester Storm, saw all hopes of Clan making the playoffs evaporate before their eyes.
The night actually started well for John Tripp’s side when Jacob Doty opened the scoring with just Braehead Clan....3 Nottingham........6
Craig Ritchie B raehead Clan lef t themselves with a mountain to climb as they lost grasp of their playoff hopes with a 6-3 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Panthers.
In the penultimate game of the campaign, Clan knew that a victory would all but secure their spot in the playoff positions.
But defeat to Panthers left them requiring a victory in Guildford on Saturday night to keep the dream alive.
The home side got off to the perfect start when GB international Craig Peacock found enough space to play in Adam Brace with a pass from behind the goal.
Brace wasted no time as he fired home from close range to put his side in dreamland.
And it looked like it was going to be a good night at the office shortly after when Braehead found themselves outnumbering the Panthers’ backline.
Ryan Potulny simply squared for skipper Ville Hamalainen, who slammed home to make it 2-0.
Panthers got themselves back in the game with a powerplay goal when Luke Pither played in Zack Phillips, and the forward struck a 11 minutes on the clock.
The forward was on hand to convert after being set up by Adam Brace.
But it just wasn’t the visitors’ night as they found themselves back on level terms a couple of minutes later.
Some defensive firefighting wasn’t enough as the Flames scorched through the backline, allowing former Clan forward Ben Davies to set up Charles Wells for the equaliser.
Guildford were soon ahead before the end of the first period, with John Dunbar putting the home team in front with four minutes left to go of the opening session. fierce drive into the top left hand corner of Ryan Nie’s goal to halve the deficit before the first break.
The tension was now evident in the air as Clan fans crossed their fingers that their side could recapture their early form.
But it was the visitors who were next on the scoresheet as Corey Neilson’s side drew level early in the second period.
Alexander Mokshantsev drove through the heart of the Clan defence before he struck a low shot that got the better of home goalie Nie.
Things soon went from bad to worse as Nottingham took the lead halfway through the second period, and it was that man Mokshantsev at it again as he poked the puck home from close range to make it 3-2.
Evan Mosey was on hand to then make it 4-2 as his effort snuck past Nie in goal as the nerves soon turned to despair inside the arena.
The third period was simply make or break for the hosts and they gave themselves hope when Robbie Lepine scored from close range as the home side looked to claw themselves back into the tie.
But it was Nottingham who hit the next goal to put the tie beyond doubt, as Tim Billingsley was blocked by Christoffer Bjorklund to leave Pither the chance to slot backhanded into the back of the net.
And the visitors finished the job with a shot from Raphael Bussieres from the inside right as the loss was confirmed.
The game was now Guildford’s to lose and, despite Clan stepping up to the plate and outshooting their hosts in the second period, when Kruise Reddick fired home the hosts’ third goal after 12 minutes of the second period, Clan were now struggling.
Tripp’s side continued to plug away in the closing stages – but their playoff hopes were dwindling away with every second on the clock.
In the end, Paul Dixon’s side held on to take the points as they booked their spot in the close season.
But for Clan, the summer starts early as the final buzzer signalled the end of a disappointing season with the final play-off spot going the way of Coventry Blaze.