Jets end Phoenix title hopes

Manchester Phoenix 2-5 Slough Jets

Slough sniper Darius Pliskauskas netted a hat-trick on Sunday night to end Manchester Phoenix’s hopes of retaining their English Premier League crown.

Phoenix went down on back to back nights for the first time since December as they lost 2-1 in Sheffield on Saturday whilst league leaders Guildford beat Basingstoke to clinch the title on Sunday.

Tony Hand’s side, who still haven’t completed a single game this season with a full squad through injuries, went behind to a controversial opener from the visitors as the Jets took the lead whilst Phoenix’s Slava Koulikov was down injured on the ice.

Slough doubled their lead on the power-play before the first break through Aaron Connolly but Jaroslav Spelda struck early in the second period to cut the deficit in half.

Phoenix however were struggling to create clear chances against a resilient Slough defence and they went behind further as Pliskauskus beat Manchester netminder Steve Fone twice early in the third period.

Juraj Faith scored on the power-play for the home side with just under five minutes remaining but Pliskauskas sealed the win for the visitors with his hat-trick strike just seconds later.

Hand said “That was a tough defeat to take. Slough caught us cold from the start and we were always chasing the game from then on.

“It’s sad to have to relinquish the title, but congratulations to Guildford Flames. We’ll regroup and focus our efforts on building a strong momentum going into the playoffs.”