Steelers v Panthers

Match Report

A short-benched Nottingham Panthers produced a spirited performance but were beaten 6-4 on-the-road at Sheffield Steelers.

Panthers were without the injured Ollie Betteridge, Mathieu Lemay, Josh Tetlow and Tyler Welsh, while Jordan Kelsall had a minor knock and also missed out.

Forward Félix Paré returned to the line-up after a three-match suspension. Rok Stojanovic started between the pipes with Mike Robinson as back-up.

Michaud on target but Steelers lead
Steelers went ahead on the powerplay when Dominic Cormier's shot was tipped-in by Josh Nicholls (5:50).

Nottingham equalised as Mike Caruso's blueline blast was superbly redirected past Matt Greenfield by Westin Michaud (9:21).

But Steelers went to the intermission with a one-goal lead as Mitchell Balmas and Colton Saucerman fed Daniel Ciampini on the powerplay (15:02)

Neilson nets third goal in four matches
Panthers conjured-up an outstanding equaliser as Carl Neill set-up Paré who produced a clever backhand pass for Logan Neilson to score his third goal in four matches (25:09).

Sheffield went back in-front through Kevin Tansey's delayed penalty goal from the top of the right-circle (28:26).

Nottingham ended the session strong with Alexander Lunsjö going close before Hugo Roy was denied on the breakaway.

Roy and Michaud score quick goals but Steelers take the points
Michaud appeared to be tripped centre-ice which saw Sheffield break two-on-one with Mikko Juusola providing the finish for Sheffield's fourth (41:39).

Nicholls got this second of the night as he picked-up a loose puck on the doorstep and took a step to the left to beat Stojanovic (49:14).

Panthers made it a one-goal game as Anthony Luciani fed Roy at the backdoor (52:29) and 80 seconds later Otto Nieminen set-up Michaud on the powerplay for his second of the night (53:49).

Michaud's goal was his 17th point in just his past six matches, with the second assist going to Lunsjö who extended his points-scoring streak to five games.

Sheffield hit back quickly and made the game safe when Great Britain captain Robert Dowd's shot crept over the line at Stojanovic's near-post (55:04).