91Èȱ¬

Panthers coach Corey Neilson was impressed with his side's response to falling behind inside 40 seconds in their Elite League play-off semi-final.

Nottingham recovered to lead Cardiff Devils 3-1 and although their opponents stayed in touch, the Panthers won 6-3.

"They had a really good push to start and used the crowd momentum to generate some traffic and get a quick goal

"We could have gone a different way but the boys pulled together and got back," Neilson told 91Èȱ¬ Radio Nottingham.

"I was really pleased with the whole performance of the team."

Neilson also paid tribute to Bruce Graham, one of two hat-trick heroes, along with Matthew Myers.

"Bruce is a top-end finisher and scored some good goals. He has been one of our key guys all season and has done an excellent job."

Treble-chasing Panthers will meet Belfast Giants in Sunday's final at the National Ice Centre.

"I just want to go and play good hockey," added Neilson. "We have done a good job against whoever has been against us.

"Hopefully we will be play against the team whose goalie will struggle against us."