Panthers can’t find way back
NOTTINGHAM Panthers were beaten 4-1 by Guildford Flames at The Spectrum in the Elite League on Sunday night.
Panthers were without injured forwards Ollie Betteridge, Westin Michaud and Tyler Welsh. Rok Stojanovic started between the pipes with Luca Sheldon as back-up.
Panthers had all the early pressure with chances for Hugo Roy and Otto Nieminen, as well as Mike Caruso on the powerplay.
Guildford went ahead when Ryan Tait stole the puck to create his own breakaway and beat Stojanovic with a neat finish (07:08).
It was 2-0 to the hosts just as a powerplay came to an end when Tait cut inside from the right and Matt Alvaro got the final touch as he drove the net (10:40), before Lewis Hook buried a rebound on the doorstep (19:39).
Panthers started the second period well with early chances for Jake Ryczek and Alexander Lunsjö but Brett Ferguson bundled a loose puck over the line for Guildford’s fourth (24:59).
Logan Neilson extended his points-streak to eight matches as his shot towards the net deflected in off a Guildford skate for his eighth goal in the past 10 matches (31:18)
A slow start to the third period saw half-chances for Nieminen and Roy as Panthers looked to reduce the arrears further.
Nicolas Ouellet hit the underside of the bar on his home debut for the Flames, while Stojanovic made a good save to deny Ferguson.
Panthers return to action tomorrow when the Flames visit the Motorpoint Arena (7:30pm). All tickets cost £9. Limited seats remain and they can be purchased at www.panthers.co.uk.