The Storm continued their excellent campaign with a professional 5–1 win over the Nottingham Panthers.

A dominant four-goal opening period from the Storm left the visiting Panthers reeling and chasing the game throughout the remaining two stanzas. Manchester’s first marker came on the power play, with a well-worked set play resulting in Haden slamming the puck home at the back post. A second was added just 12 seconds later in the form of Cutler, who stared down Grande before beating him to double the hosts’ advantage.

The Storm again made excellent use of the special teams advantage, scoring twice more in a devastating double-goal blitz as they poured on the pressure in front of a jubilant, capacity Storm Shelter. Gilmour scored his first of the game on a 5-on-3 power play, with Cutler teeing up his linemate superbly. Less than a minute later, Ergang’s slap shot ripped into the Panthers’ net with the ice well and truly tilted in one direction. An excellent double stop by DeRidder on the wounded Panthers in the 18th minute ensured it would be a flawless opening period for Manchester.

The middle period was played out in superbly competitive fashion, with both sides finishing their checks and tempers continually bubbling to the surface. It was the Panthers’ turn to make good use of a power-play opportunity, as a snipe from Doherty whistled over the glove of DeRidder in the 34th minute to give the visiting fans something to cheer about.

The first big scoring chance of the final period fell to Ulett, who showed excellent hands to dangle his way past everyone, including Grande between the pipes, but his backhand effort had too much on it and sailed over the crossbar. The Panthers continued to press for a second, but it was not forthcoming against a resolute Storm defensive group backstopped by DeRidder. An empty-net goal in the 56th minute from Welsh all but ended proceedings, as Manchester were more than good value for the win on this occasion.

Words by: Callum Schora