WHEN Robert Lachowicz scored 'that goal' against Hamburg Freezers the European ice hockey spotlight was shining upon him for a fleeting moment.
A deft spin and cool finish against the German title winners was named the best goal in round five of games in the Champions Hockey League, as the Nottingham Panthers winger proved British players can match the continent's best on any given night.
But despite an injection of confidence, Lachowicz has struggled to match such feats on a regular basis since that late September evening.
However, three goals last weekend took his points tally to 22 in 29 games in all competitions.
The Nottingham-bred winger says consistency is now key for both himself and a team which has struggled of late after seeing an eight game winning run come to an end three weeks ago.
Lachowicz said: "It's tough to say exactly how my form has been since scoring the goal against Hamburg.
"I'd say it was a big confidence boost but then, like the team, it's been hot and cold spells.
"Personally it's always good to get goals. I've been a bit light on them this year but I'm getting a few in a row and it would be nice to carry that on for the rest of the season.
"As for the team, we had eight wins in a row, lost three then win one, lose one.
"We need to get consistency in our results and get some confidence but we aren't in a bad position in the league so hopefully we can pick up again."
The Nottingham-born 24-year-old might have played well against Fife Flyers and Dundee Stars, but his efforts were unable to bring his side four more points.
Panthers beat Fife 5-3 last Saturday but then lost 4-3 in overtime to a Dundee Stars team that is bottom of the Elite League.
Lachowicz says the Dundee game is in the past though and everyone is fully focussed on tonight's trip to Hull Stingrays and then tomorrow's visit of Coventry Blaze.
"We've put last weekend behind us and we'll be working hard to go again against Hull and Coventry," he said.
"Getting the result we got in Fife and not being able to follow that was disappointing.
"We didn't get back until the early hours of the morning from Scotland.
"You can have all the excuses in the world but at the end of the day we just didn't perform.
"Getting back at 4.30am isn't the best of preparation but we knew what we had to do going into the game and we didn't do it.
"We struggled in the first but things picked up. Then things go against us and just like that it's over in overtime."
The big positive for the Great Britain international is the fact Panthers are third, only two points off top spot despite having lost to the bottom three sides this season.
"We are quite lucky in the respect that having lost some games we should have won, no one is running away with the league," he said.
"We are still right in the mix and that's a positive to take. We know that if we have a strong second third to the season then we are right up there still."
Player-coach Steven Goertzen says Coventry Blaze must beware of the Nottingham Panthers power play tomorrow.
"Nottingham are another strong team, they have a good powerplay and guys who can hurt you," he told the Blaze website.
"Every game is a battle, you can't win every night but the effort needs to be there. We are making progress and the next step is to get a win."
