Great Britain internationals Josh Tetlow and Ollie Betteridge were on target as Nottingham Panthers beat Sheffield Steelers 5-3 in the first game of the three-match Elite Series playoff final.
Robert Dowd put the Steelers ahead when he went short-side on the powerplay with 10 seconds remaining in the first period (19:50), but Nottingham hit back early in the second session through Mark Matheson’s rebound on the doorstep (22:20).
Dominic Talbot-Tassi scored his second goal of the tournament as he fired in from the blueline (27:26) as the game was turned on its head in five second-period minutes.
But Sheffield hit back after a giveaway in the Panthers defence and Jonathan Phillips went five-hole to tie the game at two (31:23).
Tetlow’s superb wrist shot – after a great feed by Lewis Hook – went in off the post as Nottingham regained the lead just 64 seconds later (32:27), before Josef Mikyska danced through the Panthers defence to swivel and equalise (36:53).
Betteridge poked home a loose puck on the powerplay (42:55) and Talbot-Tassi scored his second of the night with an empty-net goal (59:12).
Four teams – Coventry Blaze, Manchester Storm, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers – are competing in the 2021 Elite Series at the National Ice Centre.
The event has been organised under the government’s Elite Sport Guidance, with regular testing and a full covid-19 protocol in place.
The tournament – supported by Ice Hockey UK – is forming part of Great Britain’s preparations for the upcoming World Championship in Latvia.
All games are available to watch on a live stream – click here for more details and to purchase the webcasts.
Photo credit: Karl Denham.