FIXTURE LIST & GAME SHEETS    CHALLENGE CUP   ELITE LEAGUE

PLAY-OFFS    PLAYER-STATS     HONOURS    SUMMARY

The first news came in mid April, when it was announced that Mike Ellis would not be returning as coach, obviously the distant 3rd place finish the previous season had failed to impress owner Neil Black. Defencemam Corey Neilson would be his replacement.
Danny Meyers and James Ferrara were the first to be re-signed, although it was envisaged that Ferrara would have a new role on defence. A few days later Matt Myers and newcomer from the CHL Brendan Cooks' name appeared in the NEP. In mid-May it was reported that Sean McAslan was off to Denmark. Shortly after it was announced that Kevin Bergin had accepted an offer to return. Before the end of the month, three more signings were reported. Jade Galbraith, a right winger who had been in Germany for a couple of seasons. Rumun Ndur, Coventry Blaze's enforcer who had been out with a lo0ng term injury the previous season and finally returning fans favourite David Clarke, back from Italy. Clarkies' return though meant that promising Brit Mark Richardson would not be back. A week later we were told the defensive line-up for the forthcoming season was complete with the signing of Nick Toneys, a stay at home defenceman with limited professional experience and the returning Joe Graham, who looked to be set for more exposure at the top level.
After a couple of seasons without a recognised centre the signing of two was announced at the start of June. Bruce Richardson (31) and Chris Richards (32) had both turned out in the North American Central Hockey League the previous season. Shortly after the NEP reported that John Molin would be back & hopefully with "proper" centres would fare a little better than previously. That just left the signing of a goalie to complete the line-up. 
In mid August it was announced that Chris Richards would not be coming after all as he had been offered a job which allowed him to continue playing in North America. The search was on for a replacement. A week later the replacement was announced - Dan Tessier!! Some would be pleased by this controversial signing, some not. I personally rated Tessier as the best centre I'd seen in a Panthers jersey to date. Assuming he manages to see the season out doubtless he will notch a few points.
After a good start to the season Panthers slumped fairly dramatically. Up until a 6-3 loss in Sheffield Panthers were W9-D1-L1, after they went W4-D1-L7. At this point Davis Parley was released and Michel Robinson signed. Robinson had just been on his way back to Canada after a not too promising stint with Edinburgh. Would this be an improvement only time would tell.
Around the beginning of December Johan Molin suffered a fractured cheekbone and was sidelined for a number of weeks. In the interim Juri Golcic was signed as cover. Also around this time Rumun Ndur who had been sidelined with injury was de-registered and ex-Coventry defenceman Corey LeClair signed. Toward the end of January both the replacements were themselves released. Golicic in favour of a returning Molin and LeClair by new signing Ed Hill.
 
CHALLENGE CUP

RESULTS GP W L D GF GA 1 0 0 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 4 1 1 0 0 1 3 3 1 0 1 0 3 5

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CUP GRP B GP W L D GF GA PTS GD 4 3 1 0 19 16 6 3 4 2 1 1 17 13 5 4 4 1 1 2 12 11 4 1 4 2 2 0 10 11 4 -1 4 0 3 1 11 18 1 -7

Panthers, in group B, opened their Challenge Cup campaign away in Hull. The game ended in a 2-2 tie. Geoff Woolhouse made a rare start between the pipes. The second game on October 26th saw the Blaze tie  3-3 at the NIC, something of an improvement for the Panthers after three straight losses. The game at the NIC against the Devils on Nov 13th counted for both the Challenge Cup and League, which doesn't do much for the leagues credibility in my opinion, but at least Panther went up to 2nd following a 4-1 win. It didn't last long however and they crashed out of the Challenge Cup with a dismal 5-3 loss in Basingstoke. Despite a 3-0 first period in Panthers favour, a 3 goals in 5 minutes spell at the start of the second for the Bison saw the Panthers crumble.

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LEAGUE

ELITE LGE GP W L(OT) GF GA PTS GD 54 41 13 (7) 201 115 89 86 54 38 16 (2) 227 151 78 76 54 37 17 (4) 225 153 78 72 54 35 19 (4) 216 170 74 46 54 28 26 (7) 174 143 63 31 54 27 27 (4) 198 179 58 19 54 21 33 (4) 147 183 46 -36 54 19 35 (6) 179 243 44 -64 54 16 38 (5) 154 243 37 -89 54 8 46 (3) 131 272 19 -141

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RESULTS GP W L(OT) GF GA 6 5 1(0) 31 14 6 3 3(1) 31 26 6 4 2(1) 19 13 6 2 4(1) 22 20 6 6 0(0) 32 10 6 4 2(0) 29 20 6 4 2(0) 20 19 6 6 0(0) 22 9 6 3 3(1) 19 22

Panthers commenced their 2008/09 league campaign with a hard fought 3-2 win away at Newcastle minus Dan Tessier & Jade Galbraith who had yet to arrive. The following night saw Panthers first game of the season at the NIC, this time a bruising 6-2 success over the Hull Stingrays. Galbraith & Tessier were in for the following weekend. Edinburgh went down 6-0 at the NIC and the following night Panthers made it four wins on the trot with a 5-3 victory in Manchester. 
The next weekend saw Panthers face the Steelers in a sold-out NIC on the Saturday, followed by a tough trip to Coventry Skydome the next night. The first game saw a come from behind win as Panthers downed the Steelers 5-4. It seemed like the first league victory over the Steelers in umpteen years!. The following night was a game to far as Panthers lost their first of the season 6-5 in Coventry. After being 4-0 down at the end of the first Panthers managed to claw it back to 4-4 before going down by the odd goal in 11. Giving up two 5on3 PP goals didn't help matters, but Panthers defensive shortcomings foreshadowed things to come. 
The following Saturday Panthers notched 5 goals again as the Devils were downed 5-1 at the NIC, despite out-shooting their hosts by the odd shot of 81. The first game of the following weekends' double header in Edinburgh ended 6-1 in favour of the Panthers. In the following nights' game Panthers again scored 6, but the Caps made much more of a game if it scoring 5 themselves. 
The following weekend saw a bruising encounter in Hull and a 7-4 victory in which Dan Tessier excelled, scoring 2+3 and Geoff Woolhouse made another start between the pipes. The following night it was just like the good old days in Sheffield as Panthers lost 6-3. 10 goals against over the weekend and too many penalties conceded for prospective league champions. 
The wheels well and truly fell off the following weekend at the NIC as Panthers lost 4-1 to Manchester, the damage being done in the first period as Davis Parley leaked two goals in a mere nine shots. They did better the following night, but still managed to pick up only one point, as they lost 1-0 to the Devils in south Wales in OT. David Clarke was again absent for the weekend and it appears without him we have no forward line. 
Things went from bad to worse, still without David Clarke, for the visit of Basingstoke on the 28th October, with a 6-4 home defeat. The Coach warned that the players were playing for their jobs. How could things have gone so wrong so rapidly. Having started with 15 points in his first 9 games Brendan Cook had managed 1 assist in the following 7. Jade Galbraith's points output had fallen 50%. But what was more alarming was the apparent loss of form of Davis Parley whose save percentage had dropped from 92.2% over his first 8 games to 86.1% for the following 8. 
Panthers finally got back to winning ways with a 5-4 win over league dark-horses Manchester at the NIC on Nov 1st. The following evening they picked up a point in a 4-3 penalty shot loss at league leaders Coventry. The disappointing aspect being that on three occasions Panthers had led their hosts in this game. Following a 5-2 friendly game defeat against Servette from Geneva, Panthers returned to action with a 4-1 win at the NIC against the Devils.
Panthers increasingly tenuous title aspirations were fully exposed in the next game at the NIC in their first outing of the season against Belfast. With both teams needing a win to maintain their position near the upper reaches of the league, Panthers went down 7-6. To score six goals at home and come away empty handed is inexcusable. Changes were in the offing with Davis Parley, Jade Galbraith & Brendan Cook looking in the most danger of finding themselves surplus to requirement. Panthers atoned somewhat the following evening with a 3-1 win in Newcastle, but from five games against the title contenders to date Panthers had gleaned a mere three points. 
The night following Panthers humiliation in the Challenge Cup at Basingstoke they faced league cellar dwellers Hull at the NIC and scraped a 5-4 penalty shot win, but had slipped to 4th as Belfast moved up with two wins over the weekend.
Michel Robinson had replaced Davis Parley between the pipes by the time of the Vipers visit on the 29th. They went home having lost 6-3 and having been heavily out-shot. Robinson posted an 88% save average in his first appearance. He did rather better in his second returning a 96% save average as Panthers came away with a 2-1 penalty shot win in Newcastle the following weekend.
It was business as normal though away in Belfast the following Friday. again Panthers let a two goal lead slip in a 4-3 loss. Panthers record against the title contenders looked pretty abysmal, played 6, won 1, lost 4, OT loss 1, GF 25 GA 31. Only 6 goals difference over the 6 games, but huge difference in the points for column.
Two days later Panthers faced a re-match with the Giants at the NIC and came away 7-2 victors. What is one to make of this team? 
This was followed by a narrow 3-2 win in Basingstoke, who seem to be a bit of a bogey team for Panthers this season.
The following Saturday Panthers faced a weakened Devils at the NIC and came away with a narrow 5-4 penalty shootout win in which Johan Molin starred scoring 3+1 in the game plus the penalty shot winner. 
The next week, with two games against the Steelers and an away game in Coventry, would probably be make or break for Panthers season. It started well as Panthers turned in their best result of the season so far with a 4-0 blanking of the Blaze in the Skydome, Michel Robinson turning aside all 40 shots to earn himself the Panthers man of the match award.  
Christmas saw Panthers play their usual back to back games against the Steelers with the usual results. At least this time they managed to pick up two points with a narrow 2-1 overtime win at the NIC following a 5-2 loss in Sheffield.
Before years end a severely depleted Newcastle succumbed 3-0 at the NIC and a couple of days later Panthers completed a comparatively successful festive period with a 4-1 win over the Blaze at the NIC to move 3 points clear of Belfast in 3rd, with the Steelers still leading the way by 5 points. It got worse the following night as the Panthers lost in Manchester to drop seven points behind as Steelers won in Coventry in OT.
In the next game at the NIC against the Bison, a dressing down from the coach before the final period seemed to have the desired effect as Panthers ran out 7-3 winners, with 6 of Panthers 7 goals coming in the final session. Corey LeClair & Juri Golicic were making their debuts in place of the injured Rumun Ndur & Johan Molin respectively. Of the two LeClair looked the more longer term straight swap. While I suspect Golicic, Cook & Galbraith were playing for the same spot on Molins' returns.
The next Sunday Panthers made the long trip to Edinburgh and came home impressive 6-0 winners.
The first game the following weekend saw an emphatic 7-1 win at bottom club Basingstoke, but any realistic challenge for a first league title since the 50's disappeared the following night with an abysmal 3-2 loss at home to 2nd bottom club Hull..
The following weekend started with a solid 5-3 away win in Cardiff, but ended the same way as the previous one with a 3-1 home loss against the Blaze. This defeat finally ended any lingering hopes Panthers may have held of overhauling leaders Sheffield, who again had a 4 point weekend, and saw them slip to 4th spot..
The returning Johan Molin and new signing Ed Hill both played a part in Panthers next game, a tough 3-2 win against the Phoenix at the NIC on the last day of Jauary. The following night saw a return encounter in Manchester. Despite trailing 2-0 into the last ten minutes, Panthers contrived to stage a comeback and came away 4-2 victors as Kevin Bergin scored a hat-trick.
The nest weekend started with a 5-2 win over the Caps at the NIC as Belfast and Coventry both lost, the latter in OT, which saw Panthers move up to 2nd, still a distant 11 points behind the Steelers. They made it a 4 point weekend with a 5-1 win in Hull the following night, but so did the Steelers as they beat Belfast in OT.
The nest weekend saw two away games in Belfast & Sheffield. Both ended in penalty shot losses, the former by 5-4 and the latter 4-3. Dan Tessier appeared to have been targeted in the Sheffield game and was kneed by Scott Basiuk and subsequently de-registered through injury. These were followed two days later by a 5-6 loss against the Blaze at the NIC, but as Panthers were missing Myers, Meyers, Clarke & Tessier it was a pretty good effort from the remainder.
The next game at the NIC was a 5-2 win over the Vipers in which Brendan Cook excelled with 1+3. 
The nest weekend Michel Robinson earned his 4th shut-out with a 3-0 blanking of the Bison at the NIC. This was followed by a 6-4 reversal in Hull where Panthers indiscipline cost them dearly. Three 10 minute majors didn't help the cause, Robinson, Ndur & Toneys all falling foul of the referee. Bergin, Levers, Cook & Galbraith all had a 2 point game, but Panthers still missing Clarke, Myers, Meyers & Tessier weren't up to the task. The whole weekend all had an end of season feel about it.
The following weekend saw Panthers best win of the season at the NIC, a 4-2 win over champions in waiting Sheffield. They rounded off the weekend with a 7-2 win in Basingstoke.
The following Friday saw an impressive 7-5 win in Belfast to enhance Panthers hopes of finishing 2nd. Dan Tessier returned from injury and tallied 3 assists. Rumun Ndur had been de-registered to make way for Tessier. James Ferrara continued to show his best form yet for Panthers adding two goals to his three points from the previous two games. The following night saw a narrow 3-2 win over the improving Edinburgh Caps at the NIC.
Panthers finished off their league campaign at the NIC with a 4-3 win over the Giants to move into 2nd spot, temporarily at least. The league campaign came to a conclusion the following weekend with a chippy 3-0 loss in Cardiff and Panthers had finished in their usual 3rd spot.  


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PLAY OFFS

Panthers faced Manchester Phoenix in the play-off quarter finals and after two close periods at the NIC took the first game 6-3. They finished off the tie the following night in Manchester with a 3-2 win to make it 9-5 on aggregate. In the 2nd semi-final Panthers overcame the Coventry Blaze 6-2 to go through to the final against old foes Sheffield. The final proved a bit of a let down, certainly as far as the Panthers were concerned. The Steelers played their usual road game and Panthers couldn't find a way past Jody Lehman, as usual, as they lost 2-0.

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PLAYER STATS

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SUMMARY

So 2008/09 was over and Panthers had finished 3rd in the league and runners-up in the play-offs, just about as usual. Remarkably, as the player table shows, there were 8 players who finished the season averaging a point or more per game. Unfortunately the shaky start by new netminder Davis Parley, moderate results against the big three and occasional inconsistency against the leagues lesser lights scuppered any league title hopes. Indeed Panthers crashed out of the Challenge Cup at the hands of one of those lesser lights Basingstoke. Later lengthy injuries to Matt Myers, Johan Molin and particularly David Clarke, who missed almost a third of the season, didn't help matters. There were some notable results though and plenty of entertainment, as a quick scan through the fixtures listing will show. On the plus side for rookie coach Corey Neilson, only Kevin Murphy has a better winning % to date, albeit over only the one season.

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2008/09 HONOURS