Nottingham Panthers 6-4 Hull Stingrays
The Hull Stingrays tonight fell agonisingly short of a famous victory in Nottingham, leading the Panthers 4-2 after 30 minutes only to lose 6-4 to the reigning Elite League champions.
Sylvain Cloutier's side held an unlikely 3-2 lead into the first intermission thanks to a Carl Lauzon double and a Jereme Tendler goal, with Nottingham's markers coming from Matt Ryan and David Clarke.
The Rays extended their lead to two goals on 23.56 as Guillaume Doucet notched a powerplay goal, however, the Panthers comeback 10 minutes later as Robert Lachowicz narrowed the deficit to one goal.
Crucially, Clarke then popped up for the second time in the match and levelled the scores with just over three minutes remaining in the period.
The Stingrays - who were outshot 43-23 overall - were able to fire just five shots on Panthers netminder Craig Kowalski in the final period as Lachowicz recorded the game winning goal with less than ten minutes remaining in the game before Petr Kalus added a sixth with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The defeat is the Stingrays third in a row following their seven game win streak and Cloutier will be hoping to halt losing run with a big weekend coming up next week against the Cardiff Devils and Fife Flyers - who both rivals for the final couple of playoff spots.
Sylvain Cloutier's side held an unlikely 3-2 lead into the first intermission thanks to a Carl Lauzon double and a Jereme Tendler goal, with Nottingham's markers coming from Matt Ryan and David Clarke.
The Rays extended their lead to two goals on 23.56 as Guillaume Doucet notched a powerplay goal, however, the Panthers comeback 10 minutes later as Robert Lachowicz narrowed the deficit to one goal.
Crucially, Clarke then popped up for the second time in the match and levelled the scores with just over three minutes remaining in the period.
The Stingrays - who were outshot 43-23 overall - were able to fire just five shots on Panthers netminder Craig Kowalski in the final period as Lachowicz recorded the game winning goal with less than ten minutes remaining in the game before Petr Kalus added a sixth with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The defeat is the Stingrays third in a row following their seven game win streak and Cloutier will be hoping to halt losing run with a big weekend coming up next week against the Cardiff Devils and Fife Flyers - who both rivals for the final couple of playoff spots.
