GDT: Panthers 5:2 Steelers (PO, 1/4)

[Yotes]

Game Notes First leg of playoff quarter-final. 4-0, 0-1, 1-1. Nikiforuk, Farmer, Moran, McGrattan and Lawrence for Nottingham. Nelson and Walker for Sheffield. Panthers missing Carter. Pacl and Sarkanis scratched. Game Sheet.

[Rob Scott]

Thanks for putting these up again all season Yotes.

Regarding the actual game I think we need at least a 2 goal lead going into Sunday. Unfortunately I don't expect us to get a lead.

[Yotes]

No probs, thanks to NottinghamMatt for doing the difficult bit.

Agree that we need a lead really, but then again I'd never bet against Neilson in this sort of game. Wouldn't surprise me if they managed to find a way through the tie. Win or lose, hopefully the games live up to what a Panthers/Steelers playoff match up should be.

[EMB]

I said we need at least 4 goals to go to Sheffield with. We've been that many in front before and thrown it away as we seem unable to maintain a lead from one period to the next . We pulled it off last year but with this team I'm really not sure, depends how much the players want that plane ticket to go home and get away from this place.

[shmyrohdear]

3 goal minimum lead or else i think that's all she wrote for this tire fire of a season. Clinging to that ray of hope, which will see us go strong to the final weekend and have us asking "where was that team all season" but i don't see it happening, we're unbalanced, unorganised and uninspired.

[tim27]

No chance simple as

This team is done

[shirtless]

Two legs, six periods to go, game on.

[ashfieldpanther]

1 bad period could lose the whole match for Panthers. One good period wouldn't win it for us.
We were 4-0 after one period on 11th Feb. and only won 5-4. Remember the CCSF of 2015 ? 3-1 up after first leg...We have to play consistently for 6 periods

[Gilly]

The most frustrating thing about this team is this is exactly the type of game we will decide to turn up for, it would not surprise me 1 bit if we ended up in the playoff weekend, which i think would annoy me even more than if we lose and go out with a whimper, purely because it shows we can do it, but just aren't capable enough on a week to week basis

[Deleted]

It will be a travesty if this team makes the final four !

[Shorty]

If we make the final four they deserve it. It's a two game shoot out. It won't disguise the poor league campaign though.

[iginla]

Purely depends which team turns up.
I can see us getting spanked,but if Wiikman has a couple of his stellar games I can see us getting through this quarter final.
No chance of winning the play off trophy though,we ain't winning three/four tough games one after the other against Sheffield,Cardiff and Belfast.

[catweazle]

Hopefully Sheffield will not have their in house referee, Pering, he works at Sheffield university, one of their main sponsors and s should never be refereeing their games, biased is an understatement.

[Yotes]

We've gone full circle and turned into Mike O'Connor.

The horror... the horror...

[wgray]

Mar 27, 2017 11:54:37 GMT catweazle said:

Hopefully Sheffield will not have their in house referee, Pering, he works at Sheffield university, one of their main sponsors and s should never be refereeing their games, biased is an understatement.

of course he's going to be chosen to ref one of the games, Mr Smith will make sure of that. Toby Craig should ref both of them in my opinion, I thought he let the recent games in Scotland flow and he was consistent with the few calls that were made

[PantherB]

Mar 27, 2017 7:34:30 GMT @pidge said:

It will be a travesty if this team makes the final four !

It'll happen purely to enrage us all, and then half the team will have new contracts thrown at them.

Carter will probably score a hattrick too

[Shorty]

Can you imagine if we did win the playoffs. The players on the balcony, and the fans singing "don't sign him up again" or "no more years".

[mansfieldpanther91]

who gets scratched for this then? for me it should be Carter and either lindhagen on Macmillan

[Pies]

I genuinely think we'll win over 2 legs on gut instinct alone. Let's be honest, we knock Sheffield out and surely their season is as much a disaster as ours?

[Shorty]

Mar 27, 2017 16:15:20 GMT Pies said:

I genuinely think we'll win over 2 legs on gut instinct alone. Let's be honest, we knock Sheffield out and surely their season is as much a disaster as ours?

More of a disaster.

[fishman]

Matt Carter is done for the rest of the season, knee injury

[Deleted]

The chances have panthers progressing has just increased by 20%!

[Kovalchuk17]

Mar 27, 2017 16:27:16 GMT fishman said:

Matt Carter is done for the rest of the season, knee injury

I would say that we've hopefully suffered the last of him now... but suffering would imply he's been noticeable!

[iginla]

Mar 27, 2017 16:27:16 GMT fishman said:

Matt Carter is done for the rest of the season, knee injury

Mmmm....very convenient timing from Mr Carter me thinks ! 😉

# don't wanna be the fall guy.

[PantherB]

Hopefully it's nothing too serious for Carter. Certainly not been a good season for him, not lived up to ours or his own expectations but it'd be very wrong to be glad he's injured which could threaten his career. Just not the right league for him, nor the right teammates, if he recovers fully then it'll probably be back to the Ligue Magnus for him.

As for Scratches for the QF's and beyond (potentially), With Carter and Pacl sitting I'd have Lawrence join them. Need as many on D as we can get and Lawrence doesn't do anything anyway but fall over and look confused.