Phoenix stave off late surge by reigning champions

Manchester Phoenix 4-2 Peterborough Phantoms

Ed Courtenay secured Manchester Phoenix’s fifth straight victory on Saturday night, but not before a strong third period fight-back from the reigning champions.

Phoenix, sporting special Children in Need jerseys, took a quick two goal lead after a clever wrap-around goal from Iain Bowie in the 3rd minute was followed by a flowing move from Tony Hand and Ed Courtenay that left Adam Walker the easiest of finishes from close range.

Jaakko Hagelberg put the Phoenix 3-0 up in the 47th minute on the powerplay with a goal that left Phantoms netminder Stephen Wall shaking his head. Phoenix then let comfort get the better of them as the Phantoms scored twice in 81secs through Warren Tait and James Knight.

It was then left to Courtenay, with help from Hagelberg, to ease the home nerves as he crashed home a rebound goal with little over a minute remaining.

Player coach Tony Hand commented “I was impressed with the way Peterborough kept coming back at us. That said, I thought we’d played well enough to put the game beyond them before they scored. It was a good solid performance again from the guys and with a little bit of luck, we could have won by a bigger margin.”