Panthers progress to summit after victory in Coventry

NOTTINGHAM Panthers jumped to the top of the Elite League after beating former leaders Coventry Blaze in their own back yard on Sunday night.

The Blaze had suffered patchy form of late, losing three of their last seven Elite League matches and and the Panthers took advantage of their midlands rivals' inconsistency to secure a 3-1 win.

The game was tied after the first period as Coventry's Greg Owen cancelled out David Clarke's opener, but Canadian Matty Gascon scored in each of the remaining quarters to seal the Panthers victory.

Elsewhere, defending champions Sheffield Steelers suffered their tenth home defeat of the season as bottom club Hull Stingrays secured a four point weekend with a 5-2 win.

Adam Knight, Curtis Huppe, Jason Silverthorn, Craig Mitchell and Sylvain Cloutier all netted for the Stingrays who are now just six points behind the Steelers.

Meanwhile, Cardiff Devils scored a rare away win with a 3-2 victory at Edinburgh Capitals while Newcastle Vipers needed a penalty shoot-out to defeat Belfast Giants 6-5 in Northern Ireland.