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Manchester Phoenix 1-6 Slough Jets
Manchester Phoenix went down woefully 6-1 to the Slough Jets in Altrincham on Sunday night after a second period collapse by the home side that saw the Jets score four times without reply.
Player coach Tony Hand conceded that the better team took the points home “It’s always disappointing when you lose and particularly when you lose at home, but I give all the credit to Slough tonight. There were quicker to the puck, won most of the 50-50 battles and they took their chances.”
Second period goals from Joe Greener, Peter Poljacek and a double from Blaz Emersic were enough to give the hosts a commanding lead at the second interval that came after a goalless opening stanza. The damage could have been worse but a sprawling save by Steve Fone in the Manchester net as he clawed the puck back off the goal-line.
The third period saw the Phoenix try to fight their way back into the match to no avail, the tie had gone from the home-side before Ed Courtenay netted in the 47th minute. The Jets scored either side of the Phoenix marker through Ciaran Long and Dan Davies, completing a miserable night for Tony Hand’s team who lacked creativity when trying to move the puck forward.
Hand commented after the game, “We’ll analyse the video of tonight and break it down so that we all learn collectively and individually where things went wrong. Now is not the time for over-reaction or histrionics, we need to address the breakdowns and work harder at making sure they don’t become bad habits.”
Manchester Phoenix 6-5 Basingstoke Bison
An under the weather Manchester Phoenix needed an overtime period to beat the Basingstoke Bison at the Altrincham Ice Dome on Sunday night after trailing by two goals no fewer than three times in the match.
With a cold bug currently amongst the Phoenix locker-room, it took an Andre Mattsson deflected shot by Tony Hand shot in the 63rd minute to seal a hard-earned two points from a Bison side that looked to have wrapped up the points on several occasions throughout the match.
“By rights there are four or five us who should have stayed in bed tonight, but we all showed up and we got the job done.”, commented Hand after his sides eighth win in ten games.
“Considering how we felt, I thought we got a tremendous effort, especially after Basingstoke scored late and we had to fight back again to force overtime. Once again, I thought it was great entertainment and the Bison more than played their part”
The Phoenix were two goals down at the first intermission after two strikes from Andy Hemmings had put the visitors in front followed by a late first period goal from Sam Zajak. Adam Walker found the lone goal for the Phoenix in the 15th minute.
Determind to reduce the arrears, the second period saw Phoenix fly out of the blocks, Adam Walker scoring his second of the night in the 24th minute immediately cutting the deficit to one. The sides then traded goals as Joe Ciccarello found the net for the Bison whilst Tony Hand reduced the deficit once more in the 28th minute.
The Phoenix levelled the scores in the 51st minute as Ed Courtenay jammed the puck home from close in, before the Bison came forward again and took the lead in the 56th minute through Ciccarello, seemingly sealing the victory with little over four minutes remaining. As the Phoenix came in search of another equalizer, the Bison were called on two penalties leaving the home-side a golden opportunity to level the tie with a 5 on 3 powerplay and they duly netted in the 58th minute, the on-form Iain Bowie scrabbling the puck home to send the game into overtime, where Andre Mattsson’s deflection was enough to beat Bison netminder Tom Annetts.
“The level of competition in this league is something exceptional, so it is even more important we all shake off these colds and get ready for next weekend as quickly as we can.” Added Hand
Phoenix are next in action away at Bracknell on Saturday before returning home to the Ice Dome on Sunday to take on Slough Jets, face-off at 5.30pm
Manchester Phoenix 6-4 Sheffield Scimitars
Three goals in three minutes from Player coach Tony Hand and hot-shot Ed Courtenay brought Manchester Phoenix back from the dead on Saturday night against a battling Sheffield Scimitars.
The Phoenix turned the tables on a Sheffield side who could have been forgiven for thinking they had done enough to beat the Phoenix for the first time in five attempts, but man of the match Hand found a way to tie the score at 4-4 in the dying minutes before Ed Courtenay edged the Phoenix in front with 50 seconds on the clock.
A pulsating game at the Altrincham Ice Dome began with an early goal for the home-side, the on form Iain Bowie firing a shot from the left wing circle past Pasi Raitanen in the Sheffield net in the 6th minute. Phoenix doubled their advantage in the 16th minute as the equally hot Robert Lachowicz capitalised on a turnover in the Sheffield zone.
An all action first period then saw Bowie drop the gloves with Sheffield’s Robert Farmer as they engaged in a fight that ended with the Phoenix winger coming worse off due to the size of the Scimitars forward. This seemed to revitalise the Scimitars and Tom Squires reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the 18th minute.
The resurgent Scimitars attacked further in the second period with the Phoenix struggling to deal with wave after wave of pressure. Deservedly, the visitors drew level in the 26th minute through Matt Haywood as he fired a blistering slap-shot past a helpless Steve Fone in the Manchester net. The Scimitars were clearly in the ascendency and they quickly took the lead through Robert Farmer and could have made the game a two goal spread, but the goal-frame came to the aid of a beaten Steve Fone.
The final period saw the Phoenix draw level in the 45th minute as Adam Walker deflected a pass from Ed Courtenay right in front of the Sheffield net and from there on in the period quickly built up into an epic spectacle of all-out attacking action as both teams went in search of the game winner. It was Sheffield who found the net in the 54th minute as James Archer struck and seemingly dealt the Phoenix a killer blow much to the delight of the travelling support.
However Phoenix coach Hand found a crack in the armour of Raitanen in the Sheffield net as he banked the puck off his legs from behind the net to tie the score at 4-4 in the 57th minute before Ed Courtenay capitalized on Sheffield give-away to put the Phoenix in the lead with less than a minute remaining. Sheffield withdrew their netminder in hope of an equally impressive comeback, but the plan backfired as Hand found the empty cage to seal two points for the Phoenix.
Player coach Hand remarked after the game, “That has to be one of the most entertaining games I’ve played in for quite some time. Both teams gave it 110% and to honest, neither deserved to lose. I thought our guys needed to stay calm and not panic, and they did. We dug deep to get the job done and I think you could tell by the noise that the supporters enjoyed the game.”
“I hope that when they spread the word about tonights’ game that we can continue to get more people to come out and see what great value for money we offer as a sporting spectacle.”
Manchester Phoenix 7-0 Romford Raiders
Robert Lachowicz and Iain Bowie led the way for Manchester Phoenix on Sunday night at the Altrincham Ice Dome as they both bagged doubles during the seven goal rout of Romford Raiders.
Tony Hand’s team were quick off the mark, taking advantage of an early power-play opportunity as Greg Wood opened the scoring with a wrap-around goal in the third minute. This was followed by Bowie’s first of the night in the 7th minute, again on the power-play as the visitors took early penalties. A perfect period for the Phoenix was capped off by a sublime breakaway effort by Lachowicz who after beating the Raiders defence with his speed, neatly finished off a great move by the home side to lead 3-0 at the first interval.
Player coach Hand replaced Steve Fone in the home goal for the second period, giving back-up netminder Adam Summerfield the chance to get some ice-time under his belt with the Phoenix looking fairly comfortable. Iain Bowie completed his double early in the period before Adam Walker missed a penalty shot for the home side.
In the third period however, Walker finally got his goal tally for the season off the mark with a strike in the 44th minute to increase the lead to five goals. By this point, the game was gone from the Raiders who never really found their groove during their first visit to the Dome. In the 47th minute, sniper Ed Courtenay snapped home the hosts sixth goal of the night, this was followed shortly after by Lachowicz’s second goal as he arrived at the net just in time to connect with a oncoming Adam Walker pass to complete the scoring at 7-0
Phoenix coach Tony Hand commented, “Tonight, I could see the first real signs of the team beginning to gel. I thought everybody played well and it was good to give Adam Summerfield two periods even though he didn’t face that many shots.”
”The really pleasing aspect is the goals we scored being spread around the roster and for the younger lads like Iain and Robert to see their effort and enthusiasm rewarded. With no disrespect to Romford who kept on battling, we’ll have harder games this season, but I’m pleased by the solid all-round effort tonight.”
The defeat of Romford paired with a 5-1 road victory in Swindon the night before lifts Phoenix to 2nd in the table behind leaders Milton Keynes Lightning.
