COREY Neilson felt Nottingham Panthers ground down Dundee Stars as soon as the puck dropped in their 5-1 win.
The struggling Stars were short on defensive options and Panthers made the most of it as David Clarke scored twice in the first period.
Evan Mosey and Mike Berube made it four in the second before Nathan Robinson added a stunning fifth in the final stages.
Neilson said: "We started well. We knew they had four defencemen so we wanted to get on top of them and tire them out.
"We did that in the first period with a couple of typical Clarkey goals. We were physical and ground them down. Mosey and Berube have scored a couple of nice goals and then Robbo has scored a special one at the end there.
"Dundee came out well in the third period and forced a few more chances. Killer (Craig Kowalski) has made some huge saves, real momentum killers.
"I think that will have drained their spirits. The game was over by then in terms of the outcome but we stopped doing what we were doing well in the first two periods.
"We did a lot of good things tonight but I think we got fatigued in the end. We put a lot effort in in the first two periods.
"We were playing with six or seven forwards for a long spell there because we were without Boxy for a long time. "He showed tremendous pride in himself and his team (by fighting).
"It's tough when you are down, even when it is just down one guy.
"You'd be surprised how much of a difference it makes. Possibly we were saving a little bit of energy there as well for Sunday against Hull."
