The Flyers hosted the Nottingham Panthers for their first visit to the Auld Barn this season and were looking to avoid taking their winless streak into double figures. Shane Owen was recalled to start in net and Maxim Musorov also returned to the bench with Austin Farley, Drake Pilon and Fynn Page the scratches. The Panthers scratched Cooper Zech and gave the start in net to Ryan Bednard.
In a lively opening to the game the Panthers were first to threaten when they broke 2 on 1 into the Flyers zone and Matt Spencer elected to take the shot which was labelled for the top corner before Owen snagged it with his glove. Bednard was in action a minute later when he made a save from a Daniel Krenželok shot. Although play raged form end to end both teams were taking care of their defensive duties and neither goalie was called into serious action. In the 7th minute Oliver Betteridge got a clear sight of goal and his shot pinged off the outside of Owen’s right hand post. Owen was again in action in the 10th minute when he did well to hold to the puck following a tip down low from Sam Herr. The Flyers responded immediately when Martin Látal sped down the right hand boards and cut in to go back hand on Bednard who made the save. The first penalty of the night was called on Tyler Heidt for a hook on Adam Berg in the 16th minute. Owen made a big post to post save on a blast from Reid Stefanson and Phélix Martineau sold out to make a brave shot block as the Flyers successfully killed the penalty. Jordan Kelsall was denied by Owen in the 19th minute and in the last seconds of the period Bednard made saves on Ryan Foss and Patrick Kyte to keep the scoreboard blank.
The Panthers were quickly on the attack to start the second period and Owen had to make saves on Herr and Logan Neilson in the opening minute. However it was the home side that broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute after a great piece of puck possession by Madi Dikhanbek who then fed the puck cross ice for Musorov to fire a one timer past Bednard. The lead however was relatively short lived as the Panthers were back on terms 90 seconds later when Hugo Roy batted a puck out of the air and into the net after Owen had made the initial save on a Davis Bunz shot.  In the 26th minute strong skating by Kyte saw him split the Panthers defence and as he went in on Bednard he just couldn’t get enough on his back hand shot to trouble the Panthers keeper. Látal used his speed again when he drove the net and he was tripped by Spencer to put Flyers on their first power play. The Flyers struggled to get anything cleanly set up and just as the penalty was expiring Látal burst into the Panthers zone and fired a shot that knocked Bednards mask of as the Panthers completed the kill. The teams were still trading rushes and Bednard had to look sharp to stop Kyte who worked his way towards goal before the Panthers went the other way and Didrik Henbrant crashed into the net after Owen had made a strong stop on him. The Panthers took the lead in the 32nd minute when a shot pass by Tim Doherty off the pads of Owen was swept home from close range by Otto Nieminen. Flyers responded with Bednard making a toe save and the Panthers keeper made his best save so far in the game in the 34th minute when he stoned Musorov on a one timer after great interplay between Ryan Foss and Látal. Owen made a fantastic shoulder save in the 37th minute to deny Doherty from close range and the Flyers soon went back on the power play as Stefanson was called for boarding on Tyler Heidt. With the penalty in its late stages the Flyers finally managed to work the puck around the box and when the puck found Nikolai Shulga in the bumper position in the slot he went top shelf with his shot to tie the game up once again.
The first action of the third period saw Látal again burst through the Panthers rearguard and he sent his shot just wide of target. Within a few seconds the game swung in the Flyers favour as Owen made two outstanding saves in quick succession before Michael Cichy found Lucas Chiodo with a stretch pass up the gut and he sped into the Panthers zone before he deked around Bednard to plant the puck into the net. Once more however the Panthers responded in quick fire time and they were level again in 90 seconds with a greasy goal when a cross crease pass deflected off the skate of Neilson on the edge of the crease and into the net. In the 50th minute Látal created an opportunity on the rush when he found Musorov but his shot from the high slot was off target with plenty of net on show. Owen stopped Betteridge in the 53rd minute and Chiodo tried to break the other way but at the end of a shift could only fire over the net. The Flyers had an odd man rush a minute later but Bednard made a strong save on Látal. Owen was then square to the shooter in the 55th minute as he held on to a Roy shot from the circles. The Flyers survived an almighty scramble around their net in the 57th minute as a mass of humanity converged on Owen and in the 58th minute Heidt went close with a shot. The Flyers called their time out in the final minute but neither team could find a regulation winner.
Into overtime and Owen made the first save as the Panthers started with possession of the puck. The visitors had a chance to end it when Herr skated in all alone on Owen who made a beauty of a right pad kick save before Foss went the other way and Bednard made a comfortable save. With 80 seconds remaining it was the Panthers keeper’s turn to keep the game alive as he made two saves in quick succession and right on the buzzer the save of the night as Owen stoned Nieminen not once but twice with save of the week candidates.
A penalty shootout would determine the extra point. In the opening three rounds Chiodo missed with Bednard making saves on Cichy and Martineau whilst the Panthers had Kelsall and Kontos miss with Owen saving from Neilson. Musorov then had his effort saved by Bednard before Roy buried one glove side on Owen. Krenželok had  to score but his shot glanced the cross bar for the Panthers to take the win.
Pic Credits – Jillian McFarlane an Derek Young