NEW Phantoms coach Colin Patterson was looking on the bright side of life last night despite watching his players tumble to defeat in their first warm-up match of the season against the Nottingham Panthers.

That might seem odd considering a 5-0 beating in your first game in charge is not the best way to start a new job, but on balance the lopsided scoreline was a little harsh on the new man and his side after a feisty performance against the Elite League aristocrats.

A man-of-the-match debut for teenage sensation Callum Fowler and the occasional flash of class from the likes of Brent Gough and Nathan Rempel should have produced at least one goal for the Bretton faithful to cheer.

But with Davis Parley in excellent form between the pipes for the visitors, Phantoms ultimately fell just short of producing a tangible response to Panthers' superior firepower.

As Patterson pointed out, however, these games are about getting back into the groove following the summer lay-off and it was clear the Canadian believes the building blocks are all there for a successful English Premier League campaign.

He said: "Nottingham are an excellent side and took their chances well but myself and all the coaching team are very positive after that performance.

"We played some good hockey at times with a good intensity considering it is our first game back and on another night we could have got a goal or two.

"There is work to be done of course but I am sure we have players here who are capable of winning things this season.

"Because we have not made too many changes to our roster we shoul gel together quicker as a unit which is very important if you want to win things in what is going to be a long, hard season."

Having fought hard in the opening stages Phantoms were stung by two quick goals from Marc Levers and Bruce Richardson in the first period before Matthew Myers added another in the middle phase.

Former local favourite Dave Clarke then hit the fourth in the final period before Brendan Cook completed the scoring eight minutes from time.


SCORERS

Panthers

Time / Scorer / Assist
11:00 / Marc Levers / Danny Myers
13:18 / Bruce Richardson / Sam Bullas
39:12 / Matthew Myers / Brendan Cook
50:07 / Dave Clarke / Bruce Richardson
51:33 / Brendan Cook / Dave Clarke

Man-of-the-match - Dave Clarke

Phantoms

Man of the Match - Callum Fowler