Storm lead by one after 60 minutes
Photo: Manchester Storm
Manchester Storm take a one-goal lead into Nottingham on Sunday after a 2-1 first-leg win in their Playoff Quarter-Final series.
The Storm struck first through a Kyle Locke shot from the point that every player on the ice lost sight of, including Panthers netminder Kevin Carr, as it trickled through him to give the home side the lead.
“We love having the crowd behind us here, and from the top down I thought we played a really good game,” said Storm’s Kyle Locke. “We started out well, really brought the energy and continued to play well. Credit to them, they brought the battle, but I’m happy with how we played. We’re halfway there.”
Manchester doubled their advantage at 13:43 when Tyler Hinam converted a backdoor pass from Locke with a clean one-timer, marking Locke’s second point of the evening and putting the Storm 2-0 ahead.
A defensively minded second period saw both teams struggle to generate high-quality chances, with the exception of one opportunity each. Shortly after killing off a tripping penalty to Betteridge, the Panthers produced a shot that struck the glove-side post of Drew DeRidder and fell into the slot, albeit with nobody there to tap the puck home.
With 2:37 remaining, Matt Marcinew scored from close range to pull one back for the Panthers and change the complexion of the match-up.
“It was a hard-fought game, Manchester are a good team. I think the first one was maybe a little bit lucky, but I didn't think they had too much after the first period,” said Panthers forward Matt Marcinew. “I thought we outplayed them in the second and third. I thought we did a really good job, to be honest.”
The game finished 2-1 in favour of Manchester, giving the Storm a slender advantage heading into the second leg in Nottingham.
“It’s a two-game playoff. Yeah, I maybe got some points tonight, but the team came together and got the win,” added Locke. “A one-goal lead doesn’t mean much, but we need to keep our confidence and do what we can.”
“I don't think our group needs to sit here and think too much about it,” Marcinew added, looking ahead to Sunday’s game. “It’s just another game and we have to do what we do and control what we can control. If we do that, we'll come out on top by sticking to our process and what makes us great as a hockey team. If we play at our best and show our potential, I think we will come out on top.”
