Continental Cup: Nottingham Panthers lose opener on penalty shots to SonderjyskE
- Published
Nottingham Panthers will hope to bounce back from defeat when they play Krakow on Saturday
Nottingham Panthers began their Continental Cup final campaign with a penalty-shot defeat by SonderjyskE.
The Danish hosts won 2-1 after Brian Connelly gave Panthers the lead in the second period when his long-range shot bobbled in off a skate.
SonderjyskE equalised through Steffen Frank following a goalmouth scramble.
Forward Jake Hansen hit the post in overtime for Panthers, but Frederik Bjerrum was to score the winning penalty shot in a 2-0 shootout win.
Panthers won the second-tier European tournament in 2017 and return to action on Saturday when they play their second game in the four-team tournament against Polish side Krakow.
"It's really tough for these guys," said head coach Tim Wallace.
"They battled so hard and played short-handed for much of the game. It's a game of inches and it's hard to take.
"We have to focus on Krakow now. We need to be well prepared for that and focused."
