Panthers edge ahead in period two versus Fife Flyers

Period two was just as close - and tense - as period one until Panthers made the breakthrough

Early chances were limited at either end of the ice pad - the best one fell to Chris Lawrence after 27 minutes as he surged to the net to meet a perfectly weighted pass, but Fife netminder David Brown read it well and made a crucial goal-line stop.

The stalemate remained as the game reached the halfway stage .

At 29:31 TJ Caig was called for tripping, giving Panthers their second power play opportunity of the game - and this time they took it with David Clarke shooting top shelf to finally break open the game.

One minute later Robert Farmer saw a wicked left wing drive fly off the Fife crossbar.

At 31:40 it was 2-0 as Panthers ramped up the pressure with a sweeping move, with the puck thrown from the left and MacMillan netted at the back post.

Two minutes later Clarke saw a shot crash of the outside of the post as Fife struggled to halt the tide.

They were handed two powerplay opportunities almost back to back - Cullen missed one golden chance, but Panthers specialist team did its job to allow them to go back into the dressing-room with a two-gaol cushion.

It’s all to play for in period three... Panthers have the momentum and deserve their lead. Fife simply need a goal - preferably an early one.

Period One:

Fife Flyers have ended the first period of their play-off semi-final clash with Nottingham Panthers all square.

It was a nervous start from the Fifers whop took a good few minutes to settle as Panthers put them under immediate pressure the second the puck was dropped in front of a capacity crowd at the NIC.

Playing on their home ice, Panthers booked keen to get an early goal and hemmed Fife in their own zone giving the defence little time to find the tempo of the game.

Flyers were under the cosh until Chris Lawrence took a slashing penalty at 1:47 - breaking the stick of Phil Paquet in the process.

The powerplay that followed was scrappy, and there was a moment of real anxiety as Kolnik broke free and went one on one with netminder David Brown.

The keeper stood tall and made the key save.

By the seven minute mark Flyers had started to settle and find their rhythm, and both Nico Sachetti and Paddy Cullen had good shots on goal.

But the period ended at 0-0.

Flyers will probably take that score and regroup in the dressing-room.