Nottingham Panthers 4, Basingstoke Bison 2

BASINGSTOKE back-up netminder Dean Skinns did not disappoint when he stepped off the bench to replace the injured Curtis Cruickshank on Friday night.

The Canadian shot-stopper was knocked to the ice in the opening minutes after a collision in the goal crease. He bravely carried on but stood no chance with the Panthers' opening goal at 2:44 as defenceman Calle Carlsson drilled a shot in from the blue line.

In the 14th minute, Skinns took over in goal and, within seconds, Joel Salonen forced him into a save. The visitors drew level in the final minute of the period as former Panther Steve Moria netted on the powerplay.

The home side hit back almost immediately through John Craighead. The second period saw Cruickshank reclaim his place in goal until the 25th minute, when Bison man-of-the-match Skinns took over for the remainder.

The period was goalless thanks to Skinns' saves to deny Marc Cadotte, Lee Jinman, David Clarke and a Briane Thompson blue-line blast.

The third period opened with Skinns saving from Craighead and Panthers man-of-the-match Robert Stancok before Jinman made it 3-1. The visitors never gave up and at 52:33, Moria pulled a goal back, finishing a move involving Ciccarello and Reid.

The home side were not to be denied and Jinman's second sealed their win three minutes later.

Scoring, Panthers: Jinman 2+0, Carlsson 1+1, Craighead 1+0, Cadotte, Koivunoro 0+2, Ahlroos 0+1; Bison: Moria 2+0, Ciccarello, Reid, Roy 0+1. Shots on goal: Sundberg 25, Cruickshank 10, Skinns 30. Penalties: Panthers 12min, Bison 10.