DEFENDING play-off champions Nottingham Panthers will have to claw back a two-goal deficit against Fife Flyers at the NIC on Sunday (4pm) after going down 4-2 to the outsiders in the first leg in Kirkcaldy – and they will have an extra 68 seconds to try to complete their comeback.
The game ended in farcical circumstances when, with league winners Panthers battling back to 4-2 after trailing 4-0 going into the last period, a sheet of glass at the visitors' end smashed.
After a lengthy hold-up, referee Rab Cowan decided to end the game those 68 seconds short of the final hooter and they will be played in Nottingham before the second leg starts.
Off-colour Panthers were 3-0 down with less than 13 minutes gone – Casey Haines' early opener (1.39) being added to by Bobby Chaumont (10.37) and Josh Turnbull (12.52) – prompting an early time-out from coach Corey Neilson.
Although Panthers improved, they went further behind in the 26th minute through Kris Hogg, leaving themselves with a mountain to climb as they faced a first defeat in Scotland this season.
But their strength in depth proved crucial in the final period as Flyers tired and were forced into taking penalties.
In the 46th minute, David Ling blasted Panthers' first while they had a two-man advantage and then the former NHLer floated a perfect pass for Brandon Benedict for a vital second goal on the power-play.
But as Neilson said, as he contemplated the long journey home: "If we get going straight from the off on Sunday and play with intensity from start to finish we can complete the comeback."
Other results: Belfast 3, Edinburgh 1; Braehead 7, Cardiff 5; Coventry 2, Sheffield 3.