Storm v Panthers

Match Report

Nottingham Panthers moved to the top of Group A in the Challenge Cup with a 2-1 victory against Manchester Storm after a shootout at the AO Arena.

Zack O'Brien - who had earlier netted in the second period - and Tim Doherty scored their penalty shots, while Kai Edmonds turned away four of Storm's five attempts.

Edmonds made his second start of the season between the pipes with Luca Sheldon as back-up.

Storm ahead at first intermission
Clear-cut chances were limited in the opening stages but Panthers forward Miikka Pitkänen fired just wide on an odd-man rush.

Doherty's shot from the slot was stopped by Evan Weninger and at the other end, Edmonds made two good close-range saves in quick succession.

Joe Hazeldine made a remarkable stop on the line as he swept the puck away, but Tim McGauley buried the rebound to put the hosts ahead (16:53).

O'Brien scores late second period equaliser
Max Grondin saw his shot from close-range saved by Weninger inside the opening minute of the second period, while Matt Alfaro was denied on a three-on-two break.

Storm had a strong end to the session and Edmonds made a good save to deny McGauley a second of the night when the Storm forward drove the net.

Panthers grabbed a vital equaliser in the closing stages of the period as Doherty's clever pass found O'Brien to score at the backdoor (39:46).

No goals in third period
Edmonds made a superb pad save to deny McGauley's shot from the right-circle as Storm went close early in the third session.

Strong work by Spencer Naas set-up a chance for Brandon Frattaroli who saw his shot saved and Chase Pearson also went close.

Panthers take the extra point
Aiden Hansen-Bukata had the best chance in an end-to-end overtime, but with no further goals the game went to a shootout.

Kyle Maksimovich scored as Storm led after the first round, but O'Brien and Doherty beat Weninger and Edmonds stood tall for Storm's final four attempts as Panthers secured the two points on the road.