Belfast took the lead through Kevin Riehl on 5 minutes as he hammered home from in front of the net after a great pass from Rob Stewart. The Panthers levelled the game four minutes later though when Hadden scored from the point after good work from Barry Niecker. The Panthers took the lead at 13:13 on the powerplay when Jinman won the puck at the blueline and skated to net in the bottom corner, giving Bach in the Giants goal no chance. Five seconds after the Panthers scored the fireworks started as Schulte looking for revenge for the last game dropped the gloves with Niecker, with Schulte winning the fight, both players received 5 minute fighting penalty's. Just before the period ended Kruse and Clarke both picked up 2 minute roughing penalty's.

The second period was much quieter than the first with no fireworks as both teams got down to playing some old time hockey. With Allison in the box for hooking the Giants found the equaliser on 21.52 when Stewart knocked home a rebound after Sandstorm had saved a shot from Lee Sorochan. The Panthers regained the lead at 30:20 as Hadden scored his second of the game unassisted to make it 3-2. The giants then wasted two powerplay chances following two holding calls against Eric Charron at 36:06 and 38:42.

There was no further goals in the third as Panthers hold out for win. The Gianst out-shot the Panthers 14 to 7 in the period but Sandstorm stood firm with the crossbar also helping him out on two occasions with shots from Stewart and Kuwabara both rattleing it.

Attendance: 6123
Man of the Match for Belfast Giants: Rob STEWART
Man of the Match for Nottingham Panthers: Lee JINMAN
Referee: D Cloutman

Both teams had eight shots in the first period but neither team looked like scoring. The first period also saw Jason Clarke and Ian McIntyre drop the gloves with Clarke getting 5 or 6 good hits in on McIntyre before the pair were separated with both receiving 5 minute roughing penalties.

The Panthers opened the scoring at 23:46 when Lee Jinman made the most of a 2 on 1 breakaway with the assist going to Mark Cadotte. Jinman increased the Panthers lead at 30:45 when he broke into the Knights zone at speed beating the defenceman before slipping the puck past Trofimenkoff with some great stick-handling with assists going to Wood and Cadotte. London pulled one back within a minute when Alhroos beat Paek round the back of the Panthers net before feeding Bronilla to fire past Pietila. Dody Wood gave Chris Slater a lesson in fighting at 35:06 landing numerous blows on Slater before the pair were sepearated.

The Panthers made the game save at 49:12 when Greg Hadden scored his 4th league goal of the season after some great passing between Allison and Clarke. Despite the game continuing to be a rough affair only one penalty was called in the third against Dody Wood for Hooking. The Panthers killed the penalty with ease and despite Trofimenkoff being pulled in the last minute the Panthers held firm for the two points.

The Panthers were missing Thompson, Elders, Moran, Purves and Morgan but did have Todd Wetzel in the line up again. The Starting line was Pietila in nets, Paek, Charron, Hadden, Allison and Wetzel.

The Panthers out-shot the Steelers in the first and also hit the post three times but it was Sheffield who put the puck in the net although it did look like the Panthers had forced the puck over the line at one stage but nothing was given. The Steelers opened the scoring at 05:56 with the Panthers on the powerplay, Rhett Gordon scored after dekeing past Jimmy Paek and roofing the puck. They increased their lead at 15:15 when Dutiame scored and they completed the first period scoring at 19:57 when Rick Brebant forced the puck home on the powerplay.

The Panthers changed netminder at the start of the second with Sandstrom seeing his first league action for sometime. Ex-Panther Calle Carlsson took a holding penalty and the Panthers made them pay when Mark Cadotte scored at 23:09 assisted by Wetzel and Clarke, the Panthers sensed a way back into the game and five minutes later it was 3-2 as Jason Clarke scored with a wicked wrist-shot into the top corner which Laing never saw. The Panthers then had a great chance to tie the game when Steelers Jason Sessa was kicked out the game on a 5+Game for a wicked slash on Eric Charron but the Panthers could only manage 2 shots during the powerplay.

The Panthers continued to press in the third and seven minutes in, the Panthers levelled the game with a beauty of a goal from Mark Cadotte. Stretching to gather a pass from Clarke on the Sheffield blue-line, Cadotte drew it into his feet, kicked it on to beat the chasing defenceman and as he drifted wide, unleashed a shot that left Laing grasping thin air. Barry Nieckar was punished for a needless slashing call on Laing with ten minutes to go but they worked hard to kill the penalty to ensure all their good work would not be undone, Dody Wood was given a ten minute misconduct at 56:43 following a scuffle in the corner as third period ended level.

Panthers continued to dominate in overtime out-shooting the Steelers 5 to 1 but could not find the winning goal but a very satisfactory result after being 3-0 down at the end of the first.

The Knights went straight at the Panthers from the start with former Panthers Mark Kolesar going close twice early on, the Knights also had a chance on the powerplay following a cross checking call on Purves but could not convert. Eric Charron was given a ten misconduct for something he said to refereee Boniface.

Both teams had chances at the start of the second but it was the Knights who scored first at 24:10 when Kolesar and McIntyre combined to set up Maxwell who roofed it past Pietila. Panthers then stepped up the pressure with Hussey, Cadotte and Allison all going close before former Knight Barry Nieckar tied the game at 28:14 assisted by Hadden and Clarke. The lead didn't last long as former Panther Greg Burke was left all alone to score at 30:58 with assists awarded to Sacratini and Aronson. The Panthers ended the period on the penalty kill after Hadden was assessed a roughing call following a scuffle in the corner.

The Panthers managed to kill Hadden's penalty and then had there own chance on the powerplay when Greg Burke was called for interference and 20 seconds they had a 5 on 3 when Chris Slater went for High Sticks but the Panthers never really looked like scoring and the game was over at 48:24 when Kim Ahlroos scored from Aronson and Mansi. The Panthers were caught with too many men at 53:58 but managed to kill the penalty. The Panthers pulled Pietila at 58:33 but never looked like scoring with the extra skater.

Tickets for the game in Nottingham have been set at �10 for adults and �1 for Children. Ticket prices have also been set for the Ahearne Trophy game against Lillehammer at �10 for Adults and �5 for Children. Season Tickets have until January 5th to claim their seats before they go on general sales.

A dull second period was enlivened near the end when Bees Darren Hurley started to give Jinman a dig off the puck and was 'rewarded' for troubling Panthers hot-shot when Dody Wood gave him a belting and then get the extra two minutes in the sin-bin for instigating the fight.

The third period saw Bracknell pull one back through Delisle whipped in a shot and Pietila lost his lost shut-out bonus as he allowed the puck to slip through his grasp. In the last ten minutes, Bees had cause to complain when they looked in a promising position on attack only for referee Andy Carson to inexplicably stop play to give Panthers a penalty for having too many men on the ice. After another piece of Jinman magic almost saw him net the fourth, he retrieved the puck and passed to Wetzel whose rebound was stabbed in by the lurking Barry Nieckar to leave Bracknell on their knees.

In a joint statement the University and the Panthers said today :"Nottingham Panthers in association with Loughborough University/College are offering up to 3 sport scholarships for suitably academic qualified students to combine playing with Nottingham Panthers and studying at Loughborough University/College."

Applicants should be British Nationals and should be playing high level ice hockey and be committed to furtherance of both education and ice hockey aspirations.

The scholarship will include an allowance to cover:
University or College tuition Fees
All sport services at Loughborough University
Living accommodation Fees
All travel expenses
All playing kit expenses

Applicants are advised to study carefully the sport related programmes offered at Loughborough University/Loughborough College. Prospectuses can be obtained from Loughborough University Admissions department. Contact: [email protected] or telephone 01509 222498/9.

In the first instance write to Gary Moran at Panthers, 2 Broadway, Nottingham, NG1 1PS, or e-mail the Panthers at [email protected]. Applicants must note to take up a scholarship in Autumn 2003, UCAS application forms must be submitted prior to January 15th 2003.

Commenting on the scheme Panthers' owner Neil Black said: "The Loughborough University has a reputation for being the best when it comes to sports science studies, it is recognised by all the top authorities and after talks with their senior representatives we are pleased to be able to announce this scheme. "It may well be that suitable applicants cannot be arranged for this coming academic year but the scholarship programme will remain in place. The representatives at Loughborough were very helpful and keen to get involved with the Panthers. "These scholarships create a unique opportunity for any suitable candidates who fit the bill as both potential Panthers and graduates."

The Steelers and Panthers were due to contest the Challenge Cup Final on Sunday 26 January 2003 at the London Docklands Arena, home of the London Knights.

However, in order to make it easier for both Sheffield and Nottingham fans to travel to Superleague's first showpiece event of the season, the game has now been switched to the M.E.N. Arena, home of the Manchester Storm, who pulled out of Superleague earlier this season due to financial difficulties. Face Off remains at 2.30pm.

February
Sat 22 v London Knights
Sun 23 @ Belfast Giants
Tue 25 v Belfast Giants
Thur 27 @ London Knights
March
Sat 1 v Sheffield Steelers
Sun 2 @ Bracknell Bees
Wed 5 @ Belfast Giants
Sat 8 @ Sheffield Steelers
Sun 9 v Bracknell Bees
Sat 15 v Sheffield Steelers
Sun 16 @ London Knights
Sat 22 v Belfast Giants
Sun 23 @ Bracknell Bees
Tue 25 London Knights
Sat 29 @ Sheffield Steelers
Sun 30 v Bracknell Bees

The scoreline would probably have been bigger if it had not been for Princeton netminder Eric Leroux who gave up only more goal in the game to Jimmy Paek. Leroux produced some fine stops during the game but none could have been better than the stop from Lee Jinman in the third period with his glove hand.

Jason, signed for the Panthers during the summer from Mobile Mysticks (ECHL) and after a slow start in the league campaign, Jason has been playing at the top of his game and has been scoring some very important goals including the game winner against the Bracknell Bees on November 21st. Jason Elders currently has 16 points (9+7) from 23 games with 22 penalty minutes.

As much as we at panthersroar.co.uk think Jason deserves the award, we feel that there should also be a special mention for Briane Thompson who was also outstanding during the month. Thompson has been playing as a temporary forward following the suspension of Barry Nieckar and Thompson put in some very impressive performances including the game winner against the Sheffield Steelers on November 23rd.

The game didn't started well for the Panthers as they suffered a further injury blow when defenceman Kristian Taubert was hit by a hugh check from Sean Blanchard and sat out the rest of the game after struggling to get back to his feet.

A minute later the Panthers were infront, when friday the 13th proved lucky for Panthers number 13 as Dody Wood finally netted his first goal as a Panther, he was allowed space to drive home. The Panthers made it 2-0 at 09:59 when stand-in skipper Marc Hussey fired home, the Panthers also had numerous chances to increase the lead, Greg Hadden missed from infront following good work from Scott Allison and then Jinman failed to score after being put clear 1 on 1.

Panthers had further chances at the start of the second with Dody Wood failing to turn the puck home following more good work from Scott Allison. Despite being short on numbers the Panthers continued to play physically with Todd Wetzel proving he wasn't just making the numbers up by dumping Chris Slater to the ice, much to the delight of the travelling Panthers fans.

London got themselves back in the game at 24:27 when former Panther Jeff Hoad was not picked up by Jimmy Paek giving him time and space to score past Mika Pietila. The Panthers continued to press and were unlucky not to increase the lead in the 29th minute when first Marc Hussey hit the post and then Todd Wetzel firing wide from infront, two minutes later both Scott Allison and Jason Clarke fired wide when they should have hit the target. The Panthers then surived a scare when Marc Hussey made a msitake allowing London to break-away only for Mika pietila to produce a fine save.

Hussey made up for his error by assisting on the Panthers third goal when Scott Allison delightfully tipped his shot from point past Dave Trofimenkoff in the Knights goal. London pulled one back before the end of the period when Jason Elders failed to clear the zone allowing Steve Aronson to net at 37:36.

Two mistakes by netminder Mike Pietila handed the Knights the lead, firstly he was caught on the short side as Ian McIntyre scored to tie the game and then Pietila failed to freeze the play, electing to keep the puck in play only for the Knights to gain control and find Dennis Maxwell who scored at 50:30. Just as it looked like the Panthers had lost the game, they hit back within a minute when they broke away 2 on 1 with Jinman passing across to Wetzel who made no mistake to score his first as a Panther against his former team. The Knights hotly disputed the goal with former Panther Greg Burke picking up a 10 minute misconduct (Abuse of Official).

Both teams had chances in an end to end overtime period but neither could find a winner. Marc Hussey picked up the Panthers Man of the Match with Ian McIntyre taking the London Knights award.

Despite taking the lead after 19 seconds, the Panthers had to come from behind to clinich their place in the final thanks to 2 third period goals from Greg Hadden (his first in ten games) and Lee Jinman (his second of the game).

The Panthers made the perfect start with a goal straight from the face off scored by Lee Jinman (Nieckar/Paek), the Panthers had a chance of the powerplay following a 2+10 cross-checking call against former Panther Curtis Bowen but they failed to convert and the Giants were level seven minutes later when Kristian Taubert failed to clear the zone allowing Todd Kelman to fire home via the post and Mika Pietila.

The Panthers hit penalty trouble at the half-hour mark when Briane Thompson (Hooking) and Marc Hussey (Cross Checking) were set to the sin bin and the Giants took full advantage when Man of the Match Robby Sandrock blasted home. The Giants had numerous chances to kill the game but failed to convert and the misses would prove costly.

The Panthers dominated the third period with defence allowing just 3 shots on Pietila after allowing 30 in the first two, Panthers levelled at 42:29 when Greg Hadden fired home from a tight angle following good work by line-mates Elders and Clarke. The game was won at 50:43 when Scott Allison made a great play breaking up a Giants attack and feeding Lee Jinman to skate in to score the winner. The Giants withdrew Colin Ryder in the final minute but the Panthers held firm and book their place in the final.

The Panthers fixture is as follow:-
1.2.03 19.00hrs PANTHERS v Lillehammer IK

Bracknell Bees v Nottingham Panthers was 22nd December will now be played on the 5th January 6.00pm

London Knights v Nottingham Panthers was 5th January will now be played 20th December 7.00pm

The first period saw the Giants have the upper hand as the Panthers struggled to get going but despite having most of the possession the Giants could find no way past Mika Pietila in the Panthers goal. Both teams had a chance on the powerplay but neither could convert, the Giants out shot the panthers in the first 11-9.

The second period saw some clever play from the Panthers, both in front of the net and by not retaliating to some of the Giants player's actions. The Panthers opened the scoring at 21:25 as Jason Elders scored from a difficult angle assisted by Greg Hadden, the Panthers then had a chance on the powerplay but failed to convert after Dody Wood had drawn Lee Sorochan into a cross-checking penalty. The Panthers then killed a holding penalty against Briane Thompson before a High-Sticking call against Todd Kelham gave the Panthers another chance on the powerplay, which they accepted as captain John Purves scored from Cadotte and Jinman at 30:38.

The Panthers were back on the powerplay three minutes later as Jason Clarke managed to draw a roughing penalty against Paul Kruse who dropped the gloves and went after Clarke, who just covered up and accepted the hits from Kruse before skating over to the Giants bench to rub salt into the wounds. Unfortunately the Panthers failed to convert but took the two-goal lead into the third period after killing another penalty this time against Kristian Taubert for Holding.

The third period saw the Panthers kill three penalties against Hussey (Holding-Stick), Purves (elbows) and Allison (Slashing) as they held firm in the final period with the Giants out shooting the Panthers 13 to 5 in the period and 35 to 23 for the game. Man of the match for the Panthers was Mika Pietila with a 35 shot shutout with Robby Sandrock picking up the award for the Giants.

The Panthers will be hoping for a repeat performance next Sunday when the two sides meet again in the Challenge Cup Semi-Final at Sheffield Arena (face off 2:30pm).

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