Latest news with #MitchFossier
BBC News
24-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Panthers' title-clinching goal 'a blur' for Fossier
Mitch Fossier says the goal he scored to deliver Nottingham Panthers their first piece of silverware for eight years was "a blur".The American winger's 93rd-minute finish at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena sealed a thrilling 4-3 Elite League Ice Hockey (EIHL) Play-Off final victory against the Cardiff Devils in double overtime on had been 3-0 up in the EIHL's showpiece event before the Devils battled back to level in normal time, with more drama following in overtime as both sides had goals ruled out following coach's however, came up with his second goal of the game to spark euphoric celebrations which had the American leaping into the arms of his team-mates in-front of a packed crowd of Panthers supporter who last celebrated a play-off title in 2016."I never really saw the puck go in," Fossier told BBC East Midlands Today."It was all a blur. I just heard the crowd and everyone just started jumping around, so I thought it was a safe bet that I could throw my stuff in the air. It was pure adrenaline." Panthers' play-off title win made for a glorious end to Danny Stewart's first season in charge of the had Nottingham in contention for the league title going into the final weekend of the regular season before finishing third, and had taken the club to the Challenge Cup semi-finals earlier in the was all enough to earn the former Coventry Blaze boss a new contract on the eve of the play-off followed from there was a scintillating 8-6 aggregate victory against Guildford Flames in the quarter-finals - secured with a 6-3 second-leg win at home - before getting past fierce rivals Sheffield Steelers via an overtime semi-final win, sealed with a goal from retiring captain Sam Herr."There were a lot highs and lows like I'd never seen before," said Stewart of the way Panthers went on to clinch the trophy."Before the weekend that is what we talked about, just riding the highs and lows. "It's easier said than done, but credit to the guys for going out there and doing it."
BBC News
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Fossier helping Panthers hit high notes in hunt for EIHL title
Mitch Fossier is the singing winger hitting all the right notes for Nottingham Panthers in their Elite Ice Hockey League title 27-year-old American is Panthers' top points scorer with 15 goals and 35 assists in 38 appearances since arriving in has been a prolific influence that has Nottingham challenging league leaders Belfast Giants and fierce rivals Sheffield Steelers for the title going into the final weekend of the regular while he has been a hit with a hockey stick, it is with a guitar that he has been working on what he hopes to be a breakout song to be released at the end of the season."Hockey is something you can only do for so long and if there was any way that I could make a career out of music I would in a heartbeat - it's just so much fun," Fossier told BBC Sport."A lot of the stuff I've written in the past is very slow and it's very melancholy and the song I'm releasing is a little more poppy and upbeat and hopefully more prone to success, and just easier to listen to for your average person." Fossier has been releasing his own music since he was a teenager, with one of his earliest songs 'Howling Sound' generating more than 300,000 streams on 2023, when playing for hometown club Atlanta Gladiators in the East Coast Hockey League – the third tier of the sport in the United States – he put out a full-length songs, recording tracks and playing gigs are just as much part of his life than his hockey career, which has taken him from the University of Maine to Slovakia with Banska Bystrica as well as a number of ECHL and American Hockey League sides along the way."They play off each other," he said."It's a cool contrast in the sense that hockey and music are so different that they're good escapes from the other."With an acoustic guitar in hand and folksy, tender sound, Fossier the musician appears to be completely different to the goal-hungry winger he is on the what is considered to be the fastest team sport in the world is more in tune with thrash metal music."You're right, the contrast is kind of funny and it's probably not what most would expect," Fossier even as an ice hockey player, he sees himself as "a smooth and steady kind of guy" who craves the art that comes with attacking."One of the reasons I love hockey is the creative aspect of it," he said."There's creativity that I don't think you find in any other sport, so I think instinctually I like to make plays."I can definitely see the parallel between liking to play music and there being a hint of that in the way I play hockey." Fossier's approach made him an instant fan favourite at Nottingham Panthers, a club that has failed to win a major trophy since he arrived in November, Panthers were seventh in the heading into the final regular season weekend, they are third and just four points off top. They could still claim the title if they win both their matches against competition leaders Belfast - who they visit on Saturday before hosting on Sunday - and second-placed Sheffield slip up."It's still mathematically possible, but we need things to go our way at this point," Fossier said."When you look too far ahead it can get overwhelming and you kind of forget to be in the moment. So honestly, I'm trying not to think too much about it. "We are going to Belfast to try and win that game, then we'll see what happens and how the rest of the league looks."The drama of the league title race, which will be followed by the play-offs, means Fossier and his Panthers team-mates have nothing but must win games ahead of comes after that remains less certain for the American who is yet to have a contract in place for next season."We'll just worry about that after the season," he said."But I will say that there's not too many places that would be better than this to play at outside of playing in the NHL and making millions of dollars."
