Fri 9 Oct 2026 - 5:00PM
WEEKEND LOWDOWN: CUP AND LEAGUE ACTION
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By Jono Bullard
It’s a split competition weekend for Nottingham Panthers as they travel to Manchester to take on the Storm in a re-arranged Challenge Cup game on Saturday (19:30), before returning to the Motorpoint Arena for a Motorpoint Elite League game against Fife Flyers (16:00).
Four points for the Panthers from two Challenge Cup games last weekend propelled them to second in Group A, one point behind leaders Sheffield Steelers. With the Steelers in league action on Saturday, Panthers could take over top spot with victory against the Storm.
Manchester are fourth in the group with five points from four matches and come into the game after victory in the league against Dundee Stars on Wednesday night, where they came back from 3-1 down with four minutes to go to win 4-3 in overtime.
Forward Brandon Cutler leads Storm in scoring with five goals and seven assists in the 10 games, including 1+1 on Wednesday night.
Tim McGauley follows Cutler with four goals and five assists in seven games, while netminder Drew DeRidder has a 2.38 goals-against average and a 93.0% save percentage in seven games.
In the two games that Panthers have played against Storm so far this season, McGauley leads scoring for Storm with 2+1, while for Panthers Ben Corbeil leads scoring with five goals, with Matt Alfaro on 1+4, Tim Doherty on 2+2 and Miikka Pitkänen on 1+3.
On Sunday, the two oldest teams in the Motorpoint Elite League will face each other as Fife Flyers travel to the Motorpoint Arena.
It will be the 149th competitive meeting between the two clubs, stretching back to their first meeting at the Nottingham Ice Stadium on Boxing Day 1947 where Panthers beat the Flyers 11-5.
The Flyers' past three games have all been in the league. After two excellent overtime victories over Sheffield Steelers last weekend, Fife fell to a 3-1 home defeat against Coventry Blaze on Wednesday night.
Despite the defeat, Fife sit fifth in the Motorpoint Elite League standings with four points from three games.
Former Panthers defendeman Victor Bjorküng leads Fife in scoring with three goals and six assists in nine games. Slovakian forward Michael Drábek is second in scoring with eight assists in nine matches.
Panthers have only played once in the Motorpoint Elite League so far this season, a 5-1 victory over Manchester, and will be keen to continue their winning start against the Kirkcaldy side who are very much changed from last season under the stewardship of former Panthers Head Coach Tim Wallace.
Tickets selling fast for Fife at home on Sunday
Tickets are selling fast for the visit of Fife on Sunday (11th October) at 16:00. The game is sponsored by The Park Hospital.
Family Tickets are available in Block 8 and Block 12 which offer reduced admission compared to full standard matchnight prices.
As of Friday morning, there's only a few hundred tickets remaining so secure yours asap and join the #PanthersNation for a big night of action.