It’s not always the easiest of tasks, trying to fit in extra games when you are already committed to following the Whitley Warriors home and away for a full season, but gaps in the schedule meant I could fit in a number of games involving Elite League sides.
It started down in the Lace City of Nottingham on August Bank Holiday weekend, with a chance to meet up with my Rec League buddy Ruth and make new friends whilst enjoying the Bunkers Hill sports bar attached to the arena.
From there it was a case of following the Sheffield Steelers around a bit. We had a Steelers/Panthers Rivalry Cup clash in late September at the ‘House of Steel’ with Keith, Jessica and Michael and then a short hop over to Belfast to see the Giants host a struggling Milton Keynes side in early October. It would form part of a three-game weekend for me with the Warriors on a double-header road trip in Sheffield and Blackburn, and also meant I could visit Ireland for the first time.
By the time we reached November, it was time to cross the border into Scotland. The Steelers were in action against the Clan and Fife so that meant an excellent weekend visiting Glasgow and Kirkcaldy via Edinburgh.
Finally, in early December a pleasant evening was spent in Dundee watching the Stars take on Coventry Blaze. Weirdly this was the first time I had been to Dundee Ice Bowl since April 2001, my very first road trip with the Warriors.
Nottingham Panthers v Stavanger Oilers 5-3 – Saturday, August 25, 2018 7pm – Motorpoint Arena - Pre-Season Challenge
Jon Rheault and Tyler Biggs returned, Michael Garnett started in goal and The Nottingham Panthers kept their undefeated pre-season record in-tact in the Internet Motor Parts 'Europe Comes to Nottingham' challenge series. Early penalties to Robert Lachowicz (1.04) & Tyler Biggs (3.19) saw the Norwegian side gain early momentum but they came up against an in-form Michael Garnett.
The Panthers took the lead when Jaynen Rissling sent a stretch pass onto the tape of Brett Perlini and the GB forward made no mistake as he slid the puck through Holm in the Oilers' goal to give the home side the lead at 10:11. It wouldn't take long for the Panthers to double their lead as a 'too many men' call at 14:27 led to a powerplay goal at 14:49 when Mark Hurtubise hammered home a one-timer from the top of the face-off circle.
As the period wound down the Oilers took advantage of a broken play on the blue-line as they broke in two-on-one, Michael Garnett made the initial save but the puck would richochet in off the trailing forward to halve the Panthers lead. At 22:37 Luke Pither stripped an Oiler of the puck in the corner and he fed Jon Rhealut at the top of the crease as he shot short side on the Stavanger netminder to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead. Seventy-One seconds later Alex Guptill extended the Panthers lead further, he broke in on the Oilers netminder, after a friendly bounce sent him through, and he finished coolly on the backhand through the five-hole.
At the halfway stage Jon Rheault made it a four-goal spread as he showed tremendous patience in close to sit the netminder down and lift the puck over him at 28.28 with the teams skating four-on-four. There was no further scoring until 48.00 when Stavanger broke into the Panthers' zone 2-on-2 and after their initial shot was blocked, freezing Michael Garnett in the process, the trailing forward was on hand to put the puck into a half empty goal. Just under two minutes later the Oilers would further reduce the Panthers lead on a powerplay goal that deflected off a Panthers defenceman and past Michael Garnett making it 5-3.
There would be no further scoring in the game and The Nottingham Panthers remained undefeated in 2018 pre-season action.
Nottingham Panthers v MAC Budapest 4-2 – Sunday, August 26, 2018 4pm – Motorpoint Arena - Pre-Season Challenge
The Nottingham Panthers pre-season goal-rush continued as they took their tally up to 29 in just six games as they defeated MAC Budapest of Hungary. Sam Gospel got the nod in goal whilst Tommy Hughes (illness) and Jaynen Rissling (precaution) were absent from the Panthers line-up.
The visitors had recently switched from the Hungarian League to the Slovakian one for more of a challenge, so they were using the opportunity to take on the Panthers as something of a measuring stick in preparation for the season ahead. MAC came out of the blocks hot as they peppered the Panthers goal with no less than 6 shots in the opening minute of the game, but they could not find a way past the Panthers netminder.
An early powerplay at 1:05 allowed Nottingham to build momentum and at 4:37 Mark Hurtubise scored his second goal in as many nights as he fired into a virtually empty net, after good work from Alex Guptill and Justin Kovacs, to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Guptill was awarded a penalty shot at the halfway stage of the first period but he fanned on his shot and the score remained the same.
A turnover in the Panthers defensive zone saw Budapest tie the game as they beat Gospel at 16:19. Just four seconds remained on the clock when Jon Rheault, who used Luke Pither as a decoy on a two-on-one breakaway, fired the puck through the Budapest netminders glove to give The Nottingham Panthers a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.
After the Panthers had killed an early penalty in the second period (21:37) when Justin Kovacs was called for hooking, they were soon back on the attack. At 26:59 Tyler Biggs shot from the high slot was saved by the Budapest netminder, but Ollie Betteridge was on the doorstep to tuck home the rebound and give the home side a 3-1 lead.
Guptill gave the Panthers a three-goal cushion at 32:16 when his attempted cross-ice pass hit the MAC netminder on its way through to Mark Hurtubise with it continuing to find its way into the Budapest goal. The best chance on an early period Panthers powerplay went to Budapest, but Sam Gospel stood tall to deny them on a shorthanded breakaway.
As the period wound down, and with the Panthers keeping the visitors to the perimeter, a freak bounce in the crease gave the Hungarian side a route back into the game as they scored a tap-in to make it 4-2. However, there was to be no comeback though as Sam Gospel and the Panthers defence kept the visitors at bay.
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