Nottingham Panthers beat Manchester Storm 2-1 in a shootout at the AO Arena, repeating their opening-night win over the same opponents and handing Storm their first home defeat of the season. Manchester led 1-0 after the first period, with Tim McGauley scoring at 16:53 after his initial effort was ruled not to have crossed the line. A review confirmed the rebound goal.
Zach O’Brien levelled for Nottingham with 14.8 seconds left in the second period, finishing at the back post after a pass from the faceoff dot. Neither side scored in the third period or overtime, sending the game to a shootout. After both teams scored once, Tim Doherty converted in the fourth round, and Kai Edmonds kept Manchester from replying.
O’Brien said Nottingham had outplayed Storm for much of the game, but praised the home goaltender for keeping his team in it. Manchester’s Chase Harrison, making his first appearance of the season after injury, said the team needed to tidy up a few things but could take positives into its next game.