The Nottingham Panthers completed a stunning comeback to defeat the Sheffield Steelers in the Elite League playoff semi-finals.
Samuel Tremblay fired the Steelers ahead on the stroke of the first intermission, finding twine from between the face-off circles with a wicked one-timer after a feed from Daniel Leavens.
Mitchell Balmas doubled Sheffield’s advantage in the 34th minute, with the Canadian snapping the puck under the glove of Jason Grande off the rush.
But the Panthers struck back when Brandon Whistle was sent to the penalty box for boarding late in period two, halving the deficit via the stick of Cooper Zech while on the man advantage.
Reid Stefanson evened the score two minutes into the final frame, although only after the match officials waved off high stick claims from the Sheffield bench.
The Panthers briefly led, with Mitchell Fossier scoring on 57:41 to send the Motorpoint Arena into raptures, but Balmas punched back a minute later, with his shot rebounding off the glass and into the back of the net to send the game to overtime.
Samuel Herr called game in the extra-frame, beating Matthew Greenfield on his blocker side to keep Nottingham’s silverware hopes alive and set-up a grand final against the Cardiff Devils on Sunday [20 April].
Analysis:
Whenever the quality or entertainment value of the Elite League is brought into question, just point to this playoff semi-final – because it had everything.
Skill. Physicality. Hatred.
There is no love lost between the Sheffield Steelers and Nottingham Panthers – and it made for a pulsating postseason showdown.
The Steelers raced to a two-goal lead, but were never comfortable.
Nottingham kept the faith and were rewarded in the back half of the game, when Sheffield legs tired and the home support became impossible to ignore.
Perhaps the worst part of the defeat for Aaron Fox – his side didn’t make any obvious and brutal mistakes. Instead, they sat deeper and deeper in a bid to protect their lead, only for it to evaporate against their fiercest rivals.
Aaron Fox, Sheffield Steelers (Image: Dean Woolley)
Danny Stewart is understandably thrilled – with the result and his team’s bouncebackability.
“I thought our first three or four minutes were okay, but we weren’t closing the gaps and winning battles, which gave them too much time and space,” said the first-year Panthers head coach.
“It would have been easy to drop our heads, but our first goal was a massive momentum shifter and we just looked like a different team in the third period. You need your big players to step up in big moments to win championships and Sam Herr certainly did that tonight.”
Three Stars:
First Star: Jason Grande won his battle against Matthew Greenfield handedly, producing a 38-save showing to help the Panthers punch their ticket to the grand final. The American made a handful of top class stops, shutting the door on Sheffield with his team down by two to prevent the score from getting out of hand.
Second Star: Samuel Herr will retire after tomorrow’s final – and there’s every chance that he could score the winner once again. Herr was excellent in all facets of the game in the semi-final, with his overtime clincher – a sharp shot that beat Greenfield for pace and precision – typical of his talent level.
Third Star: Micthell Balmas scored twice – which is the kind of offensive output that should tip your side over the top. It wasn’t to be for Sheffield, but there is no denying Balmas’ excellent performance.
Playoff Finals Weekend Schedule:
Semi-Final: Belfast Giants 0-5 Cardiff Devils (19 April, 15:00)
Semi-Final: Sheffield Steelers 3-4 Nottingham Panthers (19 April, 19:00)
Third-Place Playoff: Belfast Giants vs Sheffield Steelers (20 April, 13:00)
Final: Nottingham Panthers vs Cardiff Devils (20 April, 17:00)
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