Panthers 4 v 3 Giants (Penalties) game thread

[Optic]

What a cracking game to open the season

really enjoyed that game, massive hits (Matt Myers at the end of the 1st period was a cracker, was right behind that goal and felt that one!)

some shocking mistakes though from some players, however good end result, i think both teams looked even and anyone could of won that

thoughts?

[Jay]

Nettie looked a little bit nervous throughout the first period, Infact most of the team did.

Got better towards the end of the second and the 3rd was all about defence which i think was pretty good in comparison to last season. Not having Levers made a massive difference i thought, henderson also..All in all a very good first game of the season, hopefully we can go to coventry tomorrow and scrape a win, I notice Thompson was there making notes so he'll be ready..

Anyone know if Levers or Henderson will be playing tomorrow?

[sanjosefan]

Without sounding like an over zealous fan, I think this could be a new era for the Panthers. In the past when the Panthers' have been two goals down they've buried their heads and conceded defeat before the game has ended, however their was a sheer determination and courage to make amends and pull themselves up. Which as a paying fan I was encouraged to see.

Penner has brought a whole new freshness to the team, something Ndur didn't do. Penner is here with something to prove to the Panthers and the EIHL, where as Ndur was a guy winding down the days.

The Brits looked good and few looked more beefed up Myers and Lee.

And a good game to watch, shame it went on longer than it should've

I was very impressed with the K-Wall

Will good see a complete healthy roster soon as possible.

[Rob Scott]

Great game really enjoyed it. Still buzzing.

Well done Panthers.

[Jay]

Also, never realised when he was with Sheffield but, Boy!! Can Zion skate..skated through the giants team on numerous times asif they werent even there.

[Rob Scott]

Zion looked class all night and the penalty shots under extreme pressure were top draw. Very impressed.

[pantherinmanc]

Good game. Belfast look very solid throughout their roster. Was very pleased with the number of turnovers we forced, we pushed them into their own zone a lot. Sproat, Ryan and McDonald look very good acquisitions and Zion was superb - he'll take a lot of pressure off Neilson this term. Myers was excellent as well. DAB took his shorthanded goal very well and generally looked like he would cause issues. Galbraith deserved his MoM, started the way we want to see him perform throughout the season.

Less said about Hanson the better, not just the penalty but some calls inevitably awful. He spends too long staring into space and then calls the last niggles of a 20 or 30 second tussle of which he's seen the last few seconds.

All in all a good game, exciting conclusion and a good 2 points - missing two key players.

Well done boys.

[Optic]

Yeah Zion was good yet again, was really impressed with him against Tilburg and he stood out yet again tonight, Belfast do look very good though, need to watch out for them

My Sky Plus messed up recording the game tonight!
set it up for 9am in the morning to record it again

[rach09]

We should have had it won in the third but I was impressed with the way we came back after a very nervous start. A pity Coventry didn't have to play tonight as they will be fresh for tomorrow. I understand tv shows Jades second penalty was in so let's hope Hanson does the decent thing and apologise. Thank heavens we went on to win!

[philuk20]

Coming from a Giants perspective. After starting strong and going 2 up it was looking bright , but a string of silly penalties put us on the back foot for the rest of the game.
A poor start for many of the players and we were being out muscled and out hit on many occasions, while some players like Hoffman, Gleed and Seeley really impressed. Hoffman played great and had a decent fight with Penner.
I was glad to see the final goal of the game giving us at least 1 point and after that performance im happy since playing on the road and first game is always hard.
I believe the panthers deserved that 2 points at least the shoot out provided plenty of dramatic moments lol.

[sanjosefan]

Heres hoping to cause a decent debate, do think Belfast's Colin Shield, third attempt his woeful slapshot was an act of sportsmanship?

[Rob Scott]

No. I really don't think so.

[pantherinmanc]

Sept 4, 2010 22:15:44 GMT @sanjosefan said:

Heres hoping to cause a decent debate, do think Belfast's Colin Shield, third attempt his woeful slapshot was an act of sportsmanship?

Good question. Worst PS i've ever seen from Shields, the guy can hit a pin from 10 yards normally.

Surprised anyone thought Hoffman was any good, I was very unimpressed. Seemed intent on a hugfest with Penner and couldn't control the puck for Toffee. Was the only Giants player I wasn't impressed with mind, Murphy made one or two outstanding stops.

[Jonzee]

Sept 4, 2010 22:18:38 GMT @pantherinmanc said:

Sept 4, 2010 22:15:44 GMT @sanjosefan said:

Surprised anyone thought Hoffman was any good, I was very unimpressed. Seemed intent on a hugfest with Penner

Yeah, for such a billed fight, it was a bit dross.

[Rob Scott]

Hoffman did not want to know against Penner after the first 10 seconds and was holding on for dear life.

Murphy made one unbelievable glove save (Deflected past the far post) after a slap shot blast by Zion coming off the left wing. Brilliant save.

[pg1982]

a good game to promote the sport. just watching it on the telly now.(how sad). took a few friends and they quite enjoyed it. except they couldnt understand why they were no punished for knocking the nets off three times!

zion look so calm and calculated, a great signing by the looks of things. He has certainly taken a step up from last year!

the fight was an draw in my opinion.

[lee]

After the first period I thought we were going to get mullered! But fair play we came out for the 2nd and 3rd and played a lot better.

Not sure I can agree with all the zion praise, he was very good going forward and great penalty shots, however, he is first and foremost a D man, and I didn't rate his defensive plays at all. Out of position, to eager to get forward and very little physical presence, he'll be responsible for as many goals as he sets up / scores imo. (I hope I'm wrong)

Didn't notice mcdonald much, but sproat and ryan looked very useful. Myers was awesome tonight! I think he deserved man of the match.

Great 2 points Looking forward to tomorrow

[Heanor Lair]

There have been experts with their hockey knowedge on this forum and more so THF telling us all that the league is a forgone conclusion as the Belfast All Stars are invincible.

Didnt we just win 4-3?? Not a bad staart for the underdogs me thinks

Will these experts please refrain from giving the rest of us their knowlegable views - thankyou.

HL

[Shaggy]

The first 10 minutes or so we looked well out of sorts, and Belfast took advantage... after that, we seemed to wake up. I'm liking the apparent emphasis on good hard checking... with Matt Myers and Stevie Lee especially coming up with some absolute corkers! Sproat doesn't appear too backwards in that regard.

Pnner/Hoffman - errr... was that what everyone was getting excited about? Looked like a 'win' to Penner to my untrained eye (for fights) but... well, bit of a non-event, wasn't it?
Penner's going to have to watch himself, BTW... Hanson may have missed the dodgy hand gestures, but he seemed to have his beady on Penner for most of the game. If that carries on, he could well end up being a liability. We shall see.

Kowalski looked useful, although he wanders a bit too much for my liking (what is it with shorter netminders and charging around the ice?). Didn't really see much out of Ryan & McDonald tonight, but it's early days. Lepine launched a few nice hits, but didn't stand out otherwise... good news in a stay-at-home blueliner?

Speaking of D-men... Mr Zion, are you sure you're not a forward? Skates like the wind, and love his penalty shots... but really needs to remember what the D in D-man stands for. Early days yet, but it's something to watch. Danny Meyers quickly cottoned on that he's going to have to stay well back when he's partnered with Zion.

Not the best of nights for Clarkie... as often seems to happen, he has the occasional off night - and this looked like one. Matt Myers, on the other hand... great effort, great physicality, good skating and puck-handling. Very glad to see him back. Beauregard looks like he's still got his magic touch... even if his 2nd goal got re-credited to Matt Myers. And Jade... deserved MoM, even discounting his penalty-shot score(s).

For the Giants, Murphy also deserved his MoM. Shields was largely anonymous. That Hoffman is a monster, isn't he? Didn't seem to do an awful lot though. The only other one that stood out was Benedict, but that's because he looks like a right dirty little <censored>.
The Giants definitely look like title contenders... but with 2 men down and a shaky start we still managed to top them, so - maybe so are we!

Overall, slightly disappointed not to get the regulation win, but a very welcome 2 points and a great home start. Just wish Sky didn't mess us all around dictating what time each period starts!

[Block 10]

Great game, took my Dad who rarely comes and he loved it! Looks like he's back next weekend and hopefully the weekend after, but he couldn't understand the Penner - Hoffman nonsense.

I admit, I'm a fight fan, but I was embarrassed to be labelled as one tonight. That was real WWF rubbish and was a shame to see it. If you want to fight like that, do it properly and actually try and hurt each other, it looked so staged and for the cameras for me. My dad even turned to me after and went 'So you brought me to see that, if you wanna fight hurt each other don't just hug!'

Overall good game, I agree with Lee, Zion looked assured going forward but out of shape defensively. Hopefully this is just rust and his defensive capabilities will be showcased soon.

Lepine was poor on the puck, he gave it away too much! He can check, but what else?

Sproat was awesome, very fast and agile on his skates, enjoyed watching him play.

Myers and Beauregard played great on a line together, Myers was a beast tonight, he was everywhere! Gritty and hard working, kind of like Bruce without the gob!

Neilson is too clever sometimes but played well.

Penner was interesting. He looked good on the puck at times but didn't check as hard as he did against Tilbrug... A bit more scared of Giants because they have Hoffman? I can only speculate.

Overall, awesome game and kudos to Galbraith to getting back up and finishing off the game after that awful call by Hanson!

Roll on next Saturday and hopefully Sawyer vs Penner or Voth vs Penner is more entertaining!

[dms41853]

well i wasnt overly confident of winning before the game so i am very happy at the win... actually i'm delighted considering we won it twice

our 3rd goal was correctly credited to myers it went in off the defenders skate myers was much improved from the game against tilburg and deserved his goal.

zion is going to be suspect for turnovers as he likes to carry the puck an awful lot and skate high into the oppostion zone but i think he will more than average it out with goals he scores and wins he grabs in shootouts... the man has tekkers!

as a whole the defence does need to stick to basics we struggled so much in the first 10 mins just to clear the zone, kowalski was shaky early on but more than saved us throughout the game but the D does need to help him more.

good first 2 points of the season we need to follow it up tomorrow!!!

p.s for all those that think zukiwskyfan is a mindless fight loving goon the man said we'd win 4-3 in ot after a 3-3 draw in regulation ... not a bad prediction really

[focus12]

Danzp, our skyplus cocked up as well, aand we are trying for tomorrow as well.

[Optic]

Sept 4, 2010 23:36:47 GMT focus12 said:

Danzp, our skyplus cocked up as well, aand we are trying for tomorrow as well.

Thought it was just mine lol

the Sky HD box downstairs recorded it fine
the Sky+ in my room is the one that failed

[John88]

Sept 4, 2010 22:18:38 GMT @pantherinmanc said:

Surprised anyone thought Hoffman was any good, I was very unimpressed. Seemed intent on a hugfest with Penner and couldn't control the puck for Toffee. Was the only Giants player I wasn't impressed with mind, Murphy made one or two outstanding stops.

Fight wasn't much but Hoffman looked a very decent player to me. Had a couple of decent shots and can clearly take a regular shift, unlike Penner who looks like he is going to take a stupid penalty every time he is on the ice.

[StolenAngelSlice]

If there needed to be a showcase game for Sky to broadcast, that was surely it?!
It had everything, given the fight was non starter, but I was really impressed with the Panthers.
Stand out players for me; Sproat, Galbraith, Beau & Myers. Matty may have silly hair but he has learnt how to land a check. Clarke, on the other hand, looked uninterested throughout and infuriated me somewhat, an off night I hope.
Overall, elated with the 2 points and impressed with the positive signs showed by the team.