Sat 13 Dec 2025 - 06:00AM
GAMEDAY PREVIEW: STORM V PANTHERS
It's gameday for the Nottingham Panthers and a road trip to face Manchester Storm in the Elite League (19:00 face-off).
It's the first of three regular-season meetings between the two sides in Altrincham in the 2025-26 campaign, but the Panthers have already secured victories in pre-season and the Challenge Cup.
The pre-season game saw Panthers secure a tight 3-2 win with Ollie Betteridge scoring the game-winner with just over three minutes remaining.
Back in September in the Challenge Cup, Panthers skated to a 3-1 success thanks to goals by Bryan Lemos, Matt Marcinew and Mitch Fossier.
Panthers currently sit top of the Elite League table with 30 points from 18 matches, with Manchester in fifth with 19 points from 15 games.
Storm's home form has been their strength this season with 13 points out of a possible 14 in the league.
Their latest victory at home saw Dante Hannoun score the overtime winner in a 3-2 win against Coventry Blaze.
View from the Bench
Head Coach, Danny Stewart, said: "You don't have as much time on the puck in Manchester and things happen quick in the smaller rink.
"It's a physical game when you go there and you have to play a little bit more direct and our guys have done a good job of executing that this season.
"Manchester are a good team. They're physical but they have quality depth in terms of scoring and have good goaltending too."
Team News in association with Candid Digital
Panthers have some injury doubts and there'll be some late fitness tests to determine the final line-up.
Swedish defenceman Jakob Stridsberg, who joined the club this week, is available for selection.
Shirt Off His Back: Ollie Betteridge
Tonight's authentic game-worn jersey is #74 Ollie Betteridge.
Tickets cost just £1 each and can be purchased here. The competition will run until 22:00 on Monday 15th December 2025.
We've teamed up with Phat Lads for competitions this season. Click here to create an account now.
Tickets, Webcast and Updates
There's still time to buy tickets for tonight's game in Altrincham and they can be purchased by clicking here.
The game is also being shown live on Storm TV and you can buy the webcast here.
There'll be updates throughout the game on the Panthers X account and there's live scoring on the Elite League website.
Back at home tomorrow
Following a run of five successive games on the road, Panthers return to the Motorpoint Arena tomorrow (Sunday 14th December) to face Fife Flyers (16:00 face-off).
This game is nearl sold-out with just a handful of tickets left, so you are urged to secure the final seats asap to avoid disappointment.
It's our annual Teddy Bear Toss game. Click here to find out how you can join in all the fun.