The Flyers entertained the Nottingham Panthers for the second meeting of the club’s this season. The visitors were without the GB pair of Finlay Ulrick and Olly Betteridge  and they also scratched Nolan Volcan and Jason Grande. The Flyers were still without the injured Justin Ducharme and Jonas Emmerdahl as well as Mason Alderson also on GB duty but added Kian Shevlin to make his Flyers debut.

Inside the opening 30 seconds the visitors had the first opportunity on the home goal as Brendan Harris went barrelling down the left wing and cut in to drive the goal but Shane Owen stayed strong and took away the bottom of the net. David Noel had a shot from the point that hit the outside of the base of the post with just over a minute played. Kevin Carr was in the game in the 3^rd minute as a point shot from Andrew McLean was tipped on net by Keaton Jameson but the Panthers keeper was able to hang on. In the 4^th minute Chase Pearson was wide open in the slot but hit shot hit a crowd of bodies in front of the net. Noel had another effort in the 5^th minute as he was the trailer on the play but his shot caught iron. Harris again showed the Flyers defence a clean pair of heels in the 7^th minute and tried to slide the puck under Owen who managed to trap the puck below his pads. The visitors continued to create the chances and in the 13^th minute Bryan Lemos went around the back of the net and out the other side but Owen was able to get a piece of the puck to deflect away. A minute later a puck spilled by Owen was scrambled away by the Flyers defence. The Flyers transitioned quicky in the 16^th minute and Jameson found Ethan Somoza whose close in tip was just over the bar. With 30 seconds remaining of the period the Panthers went on the first powerplay as Ian Scheid was assessed a trip.

The Panthers continued their man  advantage at the start of the second period and 46 seconds in Jeremy Masella was called for a slash that broke a Panthers stick during a puck battle to give the visitors a two man advantage. Owen made a shoulder save on Harris as the Flyers returned to four skaters and they completed the kill as Owen held another big blast from the blueline from Noel. Panthers broke the deadlock at 23:23 when an attempted shot by Zsombor Garat from the point broke his stick and the puck was then deflected into the path of Mitch Fossier who picked the corner of the net from the slot. The Panthers dominated puck possession in the Flyers zone and Owen had to remain alert to make several saves as the game ticked over 30 minutes played. In the 33^rd minute Garet Hunt found Somoza on the edge of the crease and he tried to lift the puck over Carr who came up with a big save. The visitors doubled their lead with another broken play goal when Fossier saw his initial shot blocked but the puck came straight back to him and Owen couldn’t reset as the Panthers player fired the puck high into the net. The Flyer were back on the penalty kill before the buzzer as Masella got the gate for a trip behind his net but they successfully prevented the Panthers getting any shots through on Owen.

The Flyers halved the deficit at 40:52 as Masella kept the puck in the Panthers zone and his pass to Ryan Nicholson was then fed to Jameson in the slot and his quick release beat Carr through the five hole. It was a positive start to the period from the home side as they hemmed the Panthers in their own zone. Scheid brought a good save from Carr in the 44^th minute. Ross Armour saw his shot in the 46^th minute fought off by Owen. A nice three way play in the 49^th minute saw Josh Winquist and Johan Porsberger set up Giordano Finoro but Carr got a piece of the puck to deny him. A minute later and a glorious chance fell to Hunt as the Panthers failed to get the puck out of their zone and he went in all alone on Carr and tried to open him up and slip the puck between his legs but the keeper was able to close his legs and keep the puck out. A shot from Armour in the 51^st minute caught the post  after Owen got a glove on it. The Panthers were back on the power play in the 53^rd minute as Brodie Kay was assessed a hooking call and Finoro joined him on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to give the Panthers a long 5 on 3. Owen made an initial save close in whilst the Panthers were very deliberate with their set up play and that finally paid off as they worked the puck to Noel who rifled into the bottom corner at 54:26. There was still 30 seconds of a 5 on 4 to kill which the Flyers successfully did. In the 57^th minute Didrik Henbrandt went through on goal but Owen again made a stellar save. With two and a half minutes on the clock the Flyers pulled Owen for the extra skater and although they kept the puck in the Panthers zone they couldn’t get a clean look at Carr and the visitors iced the contest when Fossier broke away to claim his hattrick with the empty net goal at 59:18.

Pic Credits – Jillian McFarlane and Derek Young

Fife Flyers are next at home on  Sunday 16th November when they entertain the Cardiff Devils – tickets can be bought online here:  Tickets – Fife Flyers or look out on social media channels for box office opening times.