Phoenix rout Tigers

Manchester Phoenix 9-1 Telford Tigers

Josh Ward scored his first ever goal for Manchester Phoenix and earned the man of the match award as Phoenix ran riot against bottom of the league Telford.

Phoenix, who have now won 13 of the last 16 games, scored 3 goals in each period to cruise to victory on Saturday night.

Goals from Slava Koulikov, Ladislav Harabin and Martin Cingel got the home side going in the first period, whilst Ryan Johnson and a Tom Duggan double saw Phoenix lead 6-0 at the second break.

Ward netted his first of the season in the 46th minute before setting up Ciaran Long for Phoenix’s eighth of the night and Juraj Faith rounded out the scoring for the home side with a solo goal.

But to Telford’s credit, they pressed forward and scored a late consolation through Tomas Janak as he beat back up netminder Jorge El-Hage who saw some rare ice time in the third period.

Player coach Tony Hand said: “I am very pleased with the performance. We showed how well we can play, and how well we understand each other.

“Telford are a hard team to play against, and you need a strong start to set the tone. We did that, and reaped the reward.”

Phoenix now look forward to a home double header this weekend in Altrincham with a cup semi final clash against Guildford Flames on Saturday and a visit from Milton Keynes on Sunday.