COREY Neilson insists Nottingham Panthers got what they deserved after they lost 6-1 at home to Hull Stingrays.
The head coach was reluctant to address the issue of fatigue after the thrilling win against Hamburg Freezers in the Champions Hockey League.
He did admit it was an issue, but he had no complaints about the result as Hull dominated the second period to win the game, which doubled up as an Elite League and Challenge Cup match.
Neilson said: "We talked about injuries and tiredness all last season. I want to get away from that and talk about Hull.
"They were very good. They took their chances and skated as hard as they could all night.
"We were poor. It looked like mentally there was some fatigue. We made poor choices with the puck.
"Some players looked like they were carrying pianos on their back.
"We were very slow. We moved the puck slow. We skated slow.
"When they go out and can't physically get it done it's very tough."
To make matters worse for Panthers, Mike Berube and Evan Mosey picked up injuries in the game. They will be assessed fully this week, but D-man Berube is definitely out of Sunday's game at Cardiff.
