The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsThe Nottingham Panthers are through to the final of the Challenge Cup after an emphatic 10-0 aggregate win over their arch-rivals the Sheffield Steelers.
In the first leg, the Panthers raced into a 3-0 lead through goals from Evan Mosey, Matthew Myers and Juraj Kolnick. Three more goals in the second period saw Nottingham race into a 6-0 lead and it looked as the Steelers had no answer to their attacking play. The final period saw the Panthers add another two gaols to their total, as they completed their 8-0 rout.
Sheffield improved in the second leg, but overturning the eight goal deficit was also was going to be a near impossible task and when the sides ended the first period goalless Nottingham were almost guaranteed their spot in the final. Two second period goals from Andy Bohmbach and Chris Lawrence put Nottingham 2-0 up on the night and 10-0 up on aggregate. There were no other goals in the final period as the Panthers coasted through to the final.
The Panthers will meet Cardiff in the final after the Devils beat the Belfast Giants 8-4 over two legs. After winning 5-3 on their home patch, the Devils went on to book their place in the final with a 3-1 over Belfast at the SSE Arena. Cardiff have been in impressive form all season and currently sit of the Elite Ice Hockey League.
The final will take place next Sunday. Cardiff are the defending champions, but Nottingham are the most successful team to have played in the competition, lifting the trophy seven times in total, including five wins in a row between 2009 and 2014.
