Panthers v Devils
Nottingham Panthers
2 - 3
Cardiff Devils
Match Report
Nottingham Panthers were beaten 3-2 by Cardiff Devils after overtime at the Motorpoint Arena in the Elite League on Sunday afternoon.
Captain Matt Alfaro made his first start of the season after recovering from injury, but Chase Pearson remains out of the line-up (upper body).
Kevin Carr started between the pipes with Nottingham Lions netminder Isaac Ballinger as back-up who replaced the injured Luca Sheldon.
No goals in first period
Panthers made a strong start and there were chances for Alfrao and Cooper Zech, while Brendan Harris shot just wide from the top of the right-circle.
At the other end, Carr made a fine pad save to deny Ryan Barrow while a shot from right-point deflected off a Panthers skate and came back off the pipes.
Harris and Fossier give Panthers the lead at second intermission
Tim Doherty was denied from the slot early in the second period, while Ben Bowns froze the puck on the line after a wraparound attempt by Mitch Fossier.
Doherty fed Harris who cut across the slot and fired low under Bowns to put Panthers ahead (31:48) and Fossier converted a penalty-shot as he took his time before firing through the five-hole (37:40).
The Devils had earlier dominated the opening stages of the session and Carr produced a superb close-range save to stop former Panther Brett Perlini.
Cardiff score twice to force overtime
Evan Mosey and Joey Martin both shot wide in quick succession as Cardiff pushed for a way back into the game.
Carr made a string of top-class stops as Devils continued to pile on the pressure and was finally beaten when he made the first save but Riley Brandt buried the rebound (53:24).
With Bowns lifted for the extra skater, Ryan Barrow equalised as he deflected a shot by Kristoff Kontos past Carr to send the game to overtime (59:00).
Barrow wins it in overtime for the Devils
Overtime was end-to-end and Fossier and Bryan Lemos had the best chances for the Panthers.
The visitors won it on a swift two-on-one break as Barrow converted at the backdoor (62:09).