Panthers v Storm

Match Report

Ben Corbeil scored his first professional hat-trick as Nottingham Panthers beat Manchester Storm 5-1 in the Motorpoint Elite League season opener.

Panthers out-shot the Storm 44-20 and scored three late goals to secure two points in-front of a near-capacity Motorpoint Arena crowd.

Head Coach Danny Stewart made a slight change to his lines from last night's game in Cardiff, with Miikka Pitkänen moving to the second line and Max Grondin on the third line.

Mat Robson started between the pipes with Luca Sheldon as back-up.

Corbeil's early goal gives Panthers first-period lead
Panthers took the lead after 70 seconds when Matt Alfaro fed Corbeil for a one-timer from the right-circle (01:10).

Robson made a superb save to deny Stephen Johnson's effort from the slot as Storm pushed for a quick response.

Panthers ended the period strong and Zach O'Brien went close twice in quick succession, while Darick Louis-Jean's shot from the right-circle was saved by Drew DeRidder.

Storm level at second intermission
Panthers piled on the pressure in the second period with Alfaro and Tim Doherty having chances on the powerplay.

DeRidder shut the door on a Alfaro breakaway and O'Brien was denied from close-range.

Storm made Panthers pay for the missed chances as Tim MacGauley scored a neat backhand finish to make it all-square (36:00).

Corbeil completes superb hat-trick
Robson made a superb save to deny Joseph Nardi on a short-handed breakaway and it proved to be a key moment in the game as Panthers regained the lead soon after when Doherty scored on the rebound after O'Brien's shot was saved (44:19).

Pitkänen and Alfaro combined to set-up Corbeil to score from the left-circle and the Panthers forward completed his hat-trick on the breakaway after being sent clear by Alfaro (56:51).

There was still time for Alfaro to put the seal in the win as he buried the puck past DeRidder from the slot on the powerplay (58:20).