Scoring: 1. Dynamo 5.16 power-play (Mikhail Ivanov); 2. Panthers 18.16 (Randall Weber); 3. Dynamo 42.35 (Yevgeni Lapin); 4. Panthers 48.51 power-play (Lee Jinman) 5. Dynamo 56.36 power-play (Ivanov) 6. Panthers 58.57 (Claude Savoie).

MATCH FACTS: Panthers 3, Dynamo 3 (1-1, 0-0, 2-2)
Jinman 1+1, Weber, Savoie 1 goal; Carlsson, Poirier, Drouin +1.
Shots on goal: Panthers 21, Moscow 45.
Penalty minutes: Panthers 12, Moscow 10.
Panthers Man of the Match: Danny Lorenz.
Referee: Simon Kirkham.
Attendance. 3,786.

The Panthers were given an early powerplay chance but failed to capitalise and were made to pay after 8 minutes when somehow Steelers captain Kruse managed to beat Danny Lorenz. The first period ended with the advantage to the Steelers and the Panthers could feel unlucky as neither team had really created any chances.

The Panthers were given another early powerplay chance in the 2nd period and this time they did make it count, as Lee Jinman fired home for his 6th of the season and a minute later the Panthers lead as Greg Hadden managed to force the puck home. The Steelers levelled the game a minute later through Lipsett before Moria struck to give the Panthers the lead at the end of the second period.

The third started with the Panthers looking comfortable but that all changed whilst on the powerplay, Drouin beat two players behind his own net before giving a simple pass to Drolet, which Drolet coughed up allowing Leboutillier to score shorthanded and tie the game. With 10 minutes to go the Steelers took the lead after a soft shot from Scott Allison beat Lorenz, Lorenz should really have stopped it but he was looking real knackered by this stage. Brebant made it 5-3 with six minutes to go and despite Norris reducing the score to 5-4 on the powerplay with Lorenz pulled, the Panthers never looked like scoring again and even struggled to get out of their own zone, which also saw Allison fire wide of the empty net.

The Panthers dominated a scoreless first period but it was Danny Lorenz who was the busier of the two netminders as the Panthers were outshot 9-7. The only intresting part of the first period was Referee Rowe's call on Ashley Tait for diving after he was hooked by Dan Preston and then rammed head first into the boards by the same player, both players went to the box.

The Panthers took the lead in the second period through Patrik Wallenberg who stuffed home his own rebound and despite complaints from netminder Lyle the goal stood. The Panthers then increased their lead on the powerplay following ex-team mates Brent Pope and Ivan Matulik going toe to toe after Matulik had cross checked Pope from Behind, Matulik was thrown out of the game and the Panthers had five minutes of powerplay. Jinman scored on the resulting powerplay after a great play from Christain Sjogren but the Storm were back in the game a minute later through Mark Bultje.

The third period saw Panthers recent signing Chrsitain Sjogren thrown out of the game for Cross Checking from Behind to give the Storm a five minute powerplay which the Panthers managed to kill with ease. The Panthers then increased their lead after good work by Barry Nieckar, who kept pressure on the Storm defence before putting the puck away for his fourth of the season. At this stage it looked like the Panthers would go on to win by ease but they let the Storm back in the game as Kris Miller scored with five minutes to go, to set up a tense finale. The Storm called a timeout and pulled netminder Lyle with 1:15 to go and it was left to Steve Moria to score his 8th of the season into the empty net to complete the win for the Panthers.

Wallenberg received 31% of the vote, he beat P.C. Drouin who came second with 16% and last months winner Lee Jinman who finished third with 12% of the vote.

The first powerplay of the night, saw London take the lead thanks to Ex-Devil Vezio Sacratini. The Panthers levelled the game as P.C. Drouin scored with a panalty shot after it was deemed that Knights netminder Dave Trofimenkoff had thrown his stick to stop a shot. The Knights would regain the lead with one minute to go in the first, as Ex-Panthers favourite Dave Struch scored assisted by Sacratini.

The second period was pretty even, with the only powerplay going London's way, however the Panthers managed to kill the penalty to stay in the game. The third period saw the Panthers hit penalty trouble, first Norris and then Neickar would go to the box before Wallenberg received a five minute major penalty for Clipping and it was during this penalty that the Panthers would level the game. A further penalty against Drolet saw the Knights have a 5 on 3 advantage but the Panthers held firm.

Let's hope for another good road performance, this coming weekend as the Panthers travel up the M1 on Sunday to face their arch-rivals the Sheffield Steelers. The Panthers will be looking to go into this game on the back of a 3 game unbeaten streak providing the can beat the Manchester Storm at the N.I.C. on Saturday evening.

The Sheffield Star is today reporting that Ex-Panthers netminder Eoin Mcinerney only played in last nights game due to an injury to the Steelers other netminder Ryan Bach. Bach hurt his hip the night before against the Manchester Storm. McInerney is also currently injured as he has a broken finger and is playing against doctors orders.

The Panthers took the lead late in the second period thanks to a great top shelf breakaway finish from Steve Moria. The lead was then increased after a ncie passing move involving Nieckar and Savoie left Savoie with the easy finish. However, Sheffield managed to reduce the lead with 5 minutes to go as Sebastian scored on the powerplay but the Panthers managed to hold on for the win.

Following a review of the incident into the 2 + 2 penalty awarded at the time of the incident, the ISL Disciplinary Committee has upgraded to a Match Penalty. The Committee deemed Sjorgen�s actions both careless and unnecessary. Sjorgen has been suspended for 2 games and receives a fine of �250.

Sjogren was given a double-minor penalty for an "accidental high stick" after coming into contact with Ayr's Johan Silfwerplatz in the 47th minute of the game and the Panthers are hopeful there will be no further action. Panthers Director of Hockey Alex Dampier said "I've looked at the tape a number of times and it certainly doesn't look anything like intentional to me."

BUT the Panthers have a problem over goaltenders and are expected to go with a lower league netminder as back up to Danny Lorenz in Sunday's game against arch-rivals the Sheffield Steelers. Dampier said "It will probably come down to seeing which teams don't play when we do and borrow someone for the night."

The game on Boxing Day faces-off at 6pm but some Nottingham fans will have a chance to watch the Russians in action at training earlier in the day. Panthers have acquired a set of limited edition replica Dynamo Moscow shirts which they will be selling to Nottingham fans with the purchasers getting the chance to visit the Russian training session on Boxing Day afternoon.

At 26:53 the Eagles restored their 2 goal lead thanks to Courtenay but the Panthers reduced the lead once again thanks to Tait just 25 seconds later. A minute later the game was over as the Eagles had scored two more goals to make it 5-2 and see off netminder Danny Lorenz only for Lorenz to reappear in the 3rd period following an injury to Pasi Hakkinen.

The 3rd period saw no further scoring, but did see the Panthers new signing Christain Sjogren pick up his second 2+2 penalty for High Sticks in consecutive games, this was after he had taken a 2+10 penalty in the first for Cross Checking From Behind. The amount of penalties he has taken must be a concern for the Panthers.

The Panthers now have a week to prepare for their next game against arch-rivals the Sheffield Steelers, lets hope they perform like last night and not tonight.

The first period was very evenly matched, the Steelers did seem to have more control of the period but were outshot by the Panthers 12-7, with both netminders making some good saves.

The second period was very different, New signing Sjogren left Sheffield's Scott Allison with a fat lip after catching with a high stick, Sjogren was given a 2+2 penalty which the Panthers managed to kill quite easily. However, when Wallenberg went to the box for Holding at 29:16 it took the Steelers just 6 seconds to score the games first goal. Lorenz made a save but the puck managed to trickle past him and allow Allison beat the Panthers defence to the puck and send the Steelers fans wild.

The Panthers made sure the lead didn't last along and with Sheffield's Benazic in the cooler, it allowed the Panthers to get the powerplay set-up which they did well and had the Steelers defence running around, which allowed Drouin to fire home after a neat passing exchange by Wallenberg and Drolet. The Panthers increased their lead when Brown was sent to the cooler, again the powerplay was allowed to set up and again it was Drouin who fired home this time the good work was done by Claude Savoie (on his return from suspension) and new signing Christain Sjogren.

The third period was again a tight affair and after the Panthers had killed another penalty, this time on Lorenz for Delaying the Game. The Panthers extended their lead following a good passing down low which allowed Savoie to find Moria in the slot, who fired home just 2 seconds after the Steelers had returned to full strength following a penalty to Brad Lauer.

The Panthers were not home and dry though as first they had to kill another four minute penalty after Drolet hit Allison with a high stick and although the Steelers had good pressure they could find no way past Lorenz, who countinued to stand on his head. The Steelers pulled their netminder with 1:40 to go but it was the Panthers who came closer to scoring as Drolet broke from his own end but he fired his shot wide of the empty goal.

It was a good all round performance by the Panthers especially without Jinman and Poirier BUT the new guy Christain Sjogren looks like a good signing and just maybe the Panthers might just be challenging for some honours this season. The Panthers travel to Ayr this evening, so let's hope for another good performance and a point or two.

The new adverts will be seen in newspapers, magazines and on the front of the game programme. Is this the surprise that Panthers fans have been promised.

Milestones
Saturday's game against the Sheffield Steelers at the National Ice Centre will see 2 more milestones reached by Panthers players.

Randall Weber will ice in his 300th game in all superleague games. In his 300 games, Randall has scored 32 goals and 57 assists for 89 points and just 82 penalty minutes.

The game will also see Ashley Tait ice in his 200th game for the Panthers in all superleague games. During these games, Tait has scored 38 goals and 77 assists for 112 points and 166 penalty minutes. Tait also played 5 games for the Kingston Hawks in the Benson & Hedges Cup during Season 98-99, so tomorrow game will be his 205th in all competitions.

Let's hope both players will be celebrating these milestones with a good win and 2 points in the bag.

Firstly Chrsitain Bronsard will play in Nottingham this season after all. Bronsard has signed for Iserlohn Roosters in the German DEL from the Tallahasse TigerSharks. The Panthers face the Iserlohn Roosters in the new cup competition in February as the British Superleague will take on the German Elite League in the Ahearne Trophy.

Meanwhile Marc Magliarditi continues to have a great season, after winning his first six starts of the season. Magliarditi now has a record of 9 wins and 1 lose, he currently has a save percentage of 92.4 and a goals against average of 2.08.

Danny Lorenz (Nottingham Panthers)
Sheffield Steelers vs Nottingham Panthers held on Saturday 1st December 2001.

The ISL Disciplinary Committee has reviewed an incident involving Danny Lorenz and referee Andy Carson. During the above game, Lorenz received an automatic two game suspension and a fine of �250 fine for bumping into Andy Carson. Lorenz has apologised to both the referee and to the League for his conduct, and no further action will be taken.

It didn't take long for the Panthers to open their account as Greg Hadden fired home after just 80 seconds of the game assisted by Pope and Wallenberg. However, the Knights were level at 11:33 thanks to Mike Barrie but the Panthers regained the lead two minutes later as Drouin grabbed his first of the night.

The Panthers increased their lead just 61 seconds into the 2nd period thanks to Drouin and made it 4-1 just 66 seconds later thanks to Frank Evans 3rd of the season assisted by Weber. The Knights managed to reduce the lead on 26 minutes after Mansi fired home and on the first penalty of the night against Norris, the Knights made it 4-3 as Rushforth stuffed home the rebound from Sacratini shot.

Despite leading 4-3 at the beginning of the 3rd, the Panthers had been out shot 28-20 and would again be out shot 14-8 in the 3rd but London had nothing to show for their shots and it was left to P.C. Drouin to complete his hat-trick on a breakaway to give the Panthers a much needed 2 points following the two defeats at the weekend.

The referee for tonights game was Nigel Boniface, who called just 4 penalties all night and 2 of those were fighting majors given to Nieckar and Leslie after they squared upto each other after 45 minutes.

Sheffield Steelers
It's rumoured that the Sheffield Steelers will have a new signing in their line up on Saturday at the N.I.C, in the form of another ex-Panther Marc Twaite.

Panthers will be without Lee Jinman (thigh injury) and captain Joel Poirier who is suffering from head, face, neck, back, knee and leg injuries after being clattered into the boards by Belfast's Jason Bowen on Sunday. There is also confusion over the availabilty of Claude Savoie for tonights game, the Nottingham Evening Post reports that Claude Savoie will miss the game as he is serving the final game of his five-match ban. However, he has missed 5 games since the incident against London which got him the ban. So we wait and see if he is in the line up tonight.

Now for Some good news ahead of tonights game in London, in that the Panthers won't be facing Trevor Robins as the Knights are also hit by goalie problems, with former Panthers favourite Robins facing an operation and Dave Trofimenkoff injured it is likely that London will have ex-FBNL goalie Dean Crossland between the pipes again tonight with Dave Trofimenkoff probably not fit to take over until the weekend. Crossland will however be looking to repeat his performance from Sunday when he helped the Knights defeat the Steelers 3-1. The Knights are also likely to be without Mike Ware is also doubtful for tonight's game with the re-occurence of a back problem and Steve Thornton is not expected back in the line up for at least six weeks.

Danny Lorenz
Panthers have submitted a report to the league on the incident involving Lorenz at Sheffield, when he bumped into referee Andy Carson, and will hear this week if he has to sit out longer than the automatic two games.

The Giants took the lead after 10 minutes thanks to Paxton Schulte but the Panthers hit back at 18:06 with their first powerplay goal of the night following a penalty against Todd Kelman for Tripping. The goal was scored by Hadden after a great passing move involving Drouin and Wallenberg but within 32 seconds the Giants were back in front courtesy of Rob Stewart.

The first period ended on a sour note following a cross check from behind by Jason Bowen on Panthers captain Joel Poirier. Poirier hit the boards head first following the nasty hit, Bowen was thrown out of the game (5+Game Misconduct). Poirier managed to skate from the ice with help from the trainer but played no further part in the game.

The second period saw the Panthers started the 2nd period with over four minutes of powerplay to their advantage and they made it count scoring twice. The first came from a blast from powerplay specialist Calle Carlsson. The second came from defenceman Brent Pope who scored his first of the season as his shot flew into the top corner to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead, but the lead would only last ten minutes before Jason Ruff scored his first of the night to leave the scores level at the end of the second.

With just a minute gone in the 3rd period the Giants had regained the lead from the impressive Sean Berens but the Panthers managed to level the scores again at 49:19 thanks to Greg Hadden's second of the night following good work by Wallenberg and Kelham (who was taking regular shifts in place of Poirier). Less than a minute later a penalty on Nieckar proved costly as the Giants scored the game winner on the powerplay thanks to Jason Ruff's second of the night.

Tonights performance was alot better than the night before in Sheffield as team worked hard against the impressive Belfast Giants who on current form will win the Superleague title with ease. Referee Dave Cloutman also had a good game, he missed a few calls on both side but overall called an even game.

Yeah, you are correct - ANDY CARSON

Don't get me wrong the Panthers were truley awful tonight but the officials were even worse. It took just 5 minutes and 38 seconds to call the first penalty of the night against the Panthers and P.C. Drouin who got 4 minutes for high sticking and less than 2 minutes later he had given Sheffield a 5 on 3 advantage which they converted for the first goal of the night from Rick Brebant.

After falling behind the Panthers never really looked like getting back into the game as they killed penalty after penalty. The Steelers extended their lead at 25:57 as Leboutillier shot crept under Lorenz and into the net to make it 2-0. The second period was pretty even with Just 3 penalties to the Panthers and 2 to the Steelers but neither side looked like scoring.

The 3rd period started with the Panthers again in penalty killing mode and within a minute found themselves again with a 5 on 3 disadvantage. They managed to kill this disadvantage but as the game entered the final 7 minutes the Panthers again run into penalty trouble which lead to Sheffield's captain Kruse making 3-0. Lorenz was not happy with the goal and set off after Carson to complain, what happened next is anyones guess but it me it looked like Lorenz bumped into Carson (nothing else or nothing more) but was given a Gross Misconduct penalty for abuse of the official. Hakkinen replaced Lorenz in net for the last 3 minutes of the game and he was pulled after a timeout by the Panthers with 51 seconds to go which lead to the Steelers completing the scoring on an empty net goal from Brebant.

With just 6 seconds to go Nieckar and Leboutillier dropped the gloves and went toe to toe, I would say Nieckar just won the fight but Leboutillier gave as good as he got.

At the final hooter the Panthers skated straight off the ice in disgust at tonights officials, Yet again a game was decided by the referee and not by the players. When will the superleague do something about this?.

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