MANCHESTER PHOENIX 6 - 1 GUILDFORD FLAMES
The battle at the top of the of the EPL is heating up especially with the two Pyro named sides in Flames and Phoenix. The visitors to the ice dome was the league leaders & current League Champions Surrey based Guildford Flames, Coming into this game they had been on an incredible run of 6 games unbeaten to regain the top spot, With their last defeat coming against the side they knocked top spot in the Basingstoke Bison.
Guildford with their powerful players at their disposal like ex Phoenix forward Curtis Huppe with 51 points this season, Josef Kohut with 34 pts and not forgetting long serving Great Britain defensemen "Lobby" David Longstaff with his 67 Points and it`s easy to see why they are always up at the top of the league each season with the quality players they have.
Guildford with their powerful players at their disposal like ex Phoenix forward Curtis Huppe with 51 points this season, Josef Kohut with 34 pts and not forgetting long serving Great Britain defensemen "Lobby" David Longstaff with his 67 Points and it`s easy to see why they are always up at the top of the league each season with the quality players they have.
Phoenix came into this game confident for 2 reasons, One they were on a 5 game winning streak at home, To go along with their recent victory last weekend against Milton Keynes Lightning. And the Second reason was that they went into this game on a 4 game winning streak against the Flames.
With the streak starting at the back end of last season with a 5-2 win back in March 2012, So the Phoenix had the Flames number & had confidence they could beat them. However though on this night not even then the most over confident Phoenix supporter could foresee what was going to happen in this game!The 2 sides entered the ice for the biggest game on the Saturday night, So after National anthem was played and they went through their last minute changes & superstitions and so. Everyone was waiting for referee Tom Pering to drop the puck and get this eagerly anticipated meeting of the Title contenders on.
First chance of the game broke to Phoenix player-coach Tony Hand who had his shot saved by Mark Lee in the Guildford nets and also saved from Bari McKenzie too within the first 2 mins of the game.
Guildford launched their own attack, As some good play by the forwards brought a save out of Steve Fone between the Phoenix pipes as he looked up for the clash on this night.
David Savage took a comedy tumble to the ice taking the nets off the mooring as he lost his footing and went slip sliding into the goals, taking it in good spirits laughing it off and showed perhaps that Guildford would be slipping up was it an omen?!
Guildford launched their own attack, As some good play by the forwards brought a save out of Steve Fone between the Phoenix pipes as he looked up for the clash on this night.
David Savage took a comedy tumble to the ice taking the nets off the mooring as he lost his footing and went slip sliding into the goals, taking it in good spirits laughing it off and showed perhaps that Guildford would be slipping up was it an omen?!
Guildford had a couple of chances with Ben Campbell shooting at an angle on Fone, But he kicked saved it to the boards and moments later a Fantasic save by the Sheffield born Netminder, With a quick pass across to Rick Plant on the doorstep of the Phoenix goals was saved brilliantly Point blank by the goaltender as he kept Manchester in it with some breathtaking saves at times. As even the Flames fans must have thought instant goal when Plant shot.
Andy McKinney had a effort saved by Lee in the Guildford nets as he was hoping to stop the Phoenix shooters, Then one of the plays of the 1st period was Tony Hand at centre ice, Had the puck on his stick and was taken out by 3 Flames players all hitting him at same time, But the Veteran Scotsman Still managed to get the pass away for the McKinney effort.
Ex Guildford Flame Tom Duggan was getting some extra attention off the visiting side aswell, When he went for a puck as Lee went to cover it to which Liddard and Savage didn`t take kindly to it nor did Mark Lee in the nets. So a bit of pushing and shoving occured.
The game was thoroughly enjoyable to watch and was a tough hard game played by 2 Hockey minded teams, But was still played in a very physical manner as well.
As the hits & aggressiveness was gaining on the ice it was Andrew Sharp who strayed over the line as he was given 2 mins for BOARDING as he planted a Phoenix player in the boards at 12-32.
Guildford had just killed the penalty off when Andy McKinney picked the puck up outside the Flames zone slalomed in & out of their players before ripping a shot past Lee top corner for a fantastic goal giving the Guildford Netminder no chance, The goal was timed @14-54 ASSISTS: Schanbel & Pozivil
Guildford then broke away through Jez Lundin as he skated on goal till a Joachim Flaten stick,knocked the puck away with some good back checking by the Norwegian forward.
Flames had another attack come to nothing, as an attempted wrap around by their forward was saved by Fone who was having a Cracking game between the pipes.
Phoenix then created a chance as they broke away on a 2 on 0 with Flaten & Psurny. The twi import forwards did a one-two between them as they caught the Flames defense flat footed, But Psurny just couldn`t find the finish as Lee stacked the pads.
Tony Hand then went to the box for Hooking as the Flames were onto a dangerous play that coming at 19:49 and so ended a very enjoyable & exciting old fashioned type game of hockey over the first 2o minutes.
2nd Stanza was as entertaining as the 1st period, But i doubt for the travelling Guildford contingent they will think the same especially on the score line that was that good at least.
Flames had the first chaance of the 2nd period as a David Savage pass from the slot towards goal was tipped over by Flames Rick Plant at side of nets & directed it high up into the netting behind.
Phoenix doubled their lead as a Joachim Flaten pass by the boards to Michal Psurny was somehow converted into a goal, As it went in from the tightest of all angles past Lee. To which both he and the crowd was shocked to see the red light come on to signal a goal, as Lee thought he had it all covered. Goal Timed at 22:58 Assists: Flaten
Guildford were pressing & knocking more and more at the Phoenix goals, But they found Fone in mean form and was seeing the puck like a beach ball, as every shot that went to goal was stopped by the or Fone making unbelievable saves to stop everything.
Jez Lundin then went to the Penalty box for the Flames as he was called for SLASHING at 29:57, Putting the home side on the powerplay and it didn`t take long for Manchester to make the most of it as Luke Boothroyd at 30:46 was all alone in the slot and a shot to the low side of Lee giving Phoenix a 3-0 lead. ASSISTS: Hand & Psurny
In all fairness it wasn`t as one sided a game as the scoreline suggested was. It was just a matter of Phoenix being the more clinical finishing infront of goals.
Phoenix soon got GOAL 4 as play in the Flames zone wasn`t cleared, came to Ondrej Pozivil was stood infront of the goals the puck bobbled infornt of him but managed to get a decent and his 2nd attempt was put past Lee, That also happened to be the last action he saw as he skated off to the away bench to be replaced by Back up goaltender James Hadfield. The goal timed at 33-46 Assists: Psurny & Archer
Guildford had a great couple of chances to score as David Longstaff from a faceoff was given the puck turned a D man inside out & was just had Fone to beat, Fone had committed himself early and was on the ice which gave him time to score from close range.
However the long serving British international forward struck the bar from 5ft away & pinged off into the netting . His face was a mixture of horror, shock and anger as he skated to the bench in disgust with himself for missing a great chance.
Curtis Huppe then had his effort go wide, as he skated by the Phoenix back line and tried to back hand his shot in ,but was off target and really should have done better. Guildford seemed to be infected with the Phoenix traditional "Second period syndrome" as Phoenix were awesome in all departments, Whereas the Flames weren`t finding the breaks or luck.
So as the period sounded to end the second period, Phoenix fans and players couldn`t believe the scoreline and i guess neither could the them from Guildford either as sure as anything Dixon would be using a lot of choice words for his men in the break.
The 3rd Period started out with the question, How would this period start out & after 40 seconds in we got the answer. As Phoenix piled on the agony for the Flames as a great one two between Psurny and Flaten , This time resulted in a goal as Psurny slid it past Hadfield in goals for a 5-0 scoreline at 40:40.
David Longstaff was then called for HIGH STICKS at 41:45 putting the home side back on the powerplay.
Phoenix who were on FIRE all night got more fortune as Flames luck ran out completely, When Flaten threw a quick pass away from goals, but was so quick that it bounced in off Rick Skene skate to give Manchester an Incredible scoreline of "PHOENIX 6 - FLAMES 0!" at 41:57. Assists went to Hand & Psurny
However Skene did get some satisfaction as he scored a Consolation goal for the Flames, Skene shot from an angle while Fone was screened, so as he leaned to catch sight of the puck a gap was left to the right of him and hit a couple of sticks before deflecting in to make it a 6-1 Scoreline at 45-37
Guildford then had a bit of a patch where they seem to have Phoenix rattled after the goal, but the Home side soon shook it off and regrouped again.
Dean Holland Another ex Phoenix player went to the box for 2 mins for HIGH STICKS @ 51:54.
The horn sounded to a massive cheers from the hometown fans ,But Phoenix had not only thrashed the league leaders and Champions but they had put themselves back in the contention for the title again. On another day the Flames may have scored some of the chances but on this night Phoenix profitted from it. Plus they knew fair well that Guildford was playing the Bison the next night & that one of their rivials wouldn`t be getting away to far away in the league after that clash at the Spectrum in Guildford!
The game was thoroughly enjoyable to watch and was a tough hard game played by 2 Hockey minded teams, But was still played in a very physical manner as well.
As the hits & aggressiveness was gaining on the ice it was Andrew Sharp who strayed over the line as he was given 2 mins for BOARDING as he planted a Phoenix player in the boards at 12-32.
Guildford had just killed the penalty off when Andy McKinney picked the puck up outside the Flames zone slalomed in & out of their players before ripping a shot past Lee top corner for a fantastic goal giving the Guildford Netminder no chance, The goal was timed @14-54 ASSISTS: Schanbel & Pozivil
Guildford then broke away through Jez Lundin as he skated on goal till a Joachim Flaten stick,knocked the puck away with some good back checking by the Norwegian forward.
Flames had another attack come to nothing, as an attempted wrap around by their forward was saved by Fone who was having a Cracking game between the pipes.
Phoenix then created a chance as they broke away on a 2 on 0 with Flaten & Psurny. The twi import forwards did a one-two between them as they caught the Flames defense flat footed, But Psurny just couldn`t find the finish as Lee stacked the pads.
Tony Hand then went to the box for Hooking as the Flames were onto a dangerous play that coming at 19:49 and so ended a very enjoyable & exciting old fashioned type game of hockey over the first 2o minutes.
END OF 1ST PERIOD: PHOENIX 1 - 0 FLAMES
2nd Stanza was as entertaining as the 1st period, But i doubt for the travelling Guildford contingent they will think the same especially on the score line that was that good at least.
Flames had the first chaance of the 2nd period as a David Savage pass from the slot towards goal was tipped over by Flames Rick Plant at side of nets & directed it high up into the netting behind.
Phoenix doubled their lead as a Joachim Flaten pass by the boards to Michal Psurny was somehow converted into a goal, As it went in from the tightest of all angles past Lee. To which both he and the crowd was shocked to see the red light come on to signal a goal, as Lee thought he had it all covered. Goal Timed at 22:58 Assists: Flaten
Guildford were pressing & knocking more and more at the Phoenix goals, But they found Fone in mean form and was seeing the puck like a beach ball, as every shot that went to goal was stopped by the or Fone making unbelievable saves to stop everything.
Jez Lundin then went to the Penalty box for the Flames as he was called for SLASHING at 29:57, Putting the home side on the powerplay and it didn`t take long for Manchester to make the most of it as Luke Boothroyd at 30:46 was all alone in the slot and a shot to the low side of Lee giving Phoenix a 3-0 lead. ASSISTS: Hand & Psurny
In all fairness it wasn`t as one sided a game as the scoreline suggested was. It was just a matter of Phoenix being the more clinical finishing infront of goals.
Phoenix soon got GOAL 4 as play in the Flames zone wasn`t cleared, came to Ondrej Pozivil was stood infront of the goals the puck bobbled infornt of him but managed to get a decent and his 2nd attempt was put past Lee, That also happened to be the last action he saw as he skated off to the away bench to be replaced by Back up goaltender James Hadfield. The goal timed at 33-46 Assists: Psurny & Archer
Guildford had a great couple of chances to score as David Longstaff from a faceoff was given the puck turned a D man inside out & was just had Fone to beat, Fone had committed himself early and was on the ice which gave him time to score from close range.
However the long serving British international forward struck the bar from 5ft away & pinged off into the netting . His face was a mixture of horror, shock and anger as he skated to the bench in disgust with himself for missing a great chance.
Curtis Huppe then had his effort go wide, as he skated by the Phoenix back line and tried to back hand his shot in ,but was off target and really should have done better. Guildford seemed to be infected with the Phoenix traditional "Second period syndrome" as Phoenix were awesome in all departments, Whereas the Flames weren`t finding the breaks or luck.
So as the period sounded to end the second period, Phoenix fans and players couldn`t believe the scoreline and i guess neither could the them from Guildford either as sure as anything Dixon would be using a lot of choice words for his men in the break.
END OF 2ND PERIOD: PHOENIX 4 - 0 FLAMES
The 3rd Period started out with the question, How would this period start out & after 40 seconds in we got the answer. As Phoenix piled on the agony for the Flames as a great one two between Psurny and Flaten , This time resulted in a goal as Psurny slid it past Hadfield in goals for a 5-0 scoreline at 40:40.
David Longstaff was then called for HIGH STICKS at 41:45 putting the home side back on the powerplay.
Phoenix who were on FIRE all night got more fortune as Flames luck ran out completely, When Flaten threw a quick pass away from goals, but was so quick that it bounced in off Rick Skene skate to give Manchester an Incredible scoreline of "PHOENIX 6 - FLAMES 0!" at 41:57. Assists went to Hand & Psurny
However Skene did get some satisfaction as he scored a Consolation goal for the Flames, Skene shot from an angle while Fone was screened, so as he leaned to catch sight of the puck a gap was left to the right of him and hit a couple of sticks before deflecting in to make it a 6-1 Scoreline at 45-37
Guildford then had a bit of a patch where they seem to have Phoenix rattled after the goal, but the Home side soon shook it off and regrouped again.
Dean Holland Another ex Phoenix player went to the box for 2 mins for HIGH STICKS @ 51:54.
The horn sounded to a massive cheers from the hometown fans ,But Phoenix had not only thrashed the league leaders and Champions but they had put themselves back in the contention for the title again. On another day the Flames may have scored some of the chances but on this night Phoenix profitted from it. Plus they knew fair well that Guildford was playing the Bison the next night & that one of their rivials wouldn`t be getting away to far away in the league after that clash at the Spectrum in Guildford!
FINAL SCORE: MANCHESTER PHOENIX 6 - 1 GUILDFORD FLAMES
Stats
PIMS:
PHOENIX 2 FLAMES 8
SOG:
PHOENIX: FONE 27 96.30%
FLAMES: LEE 23 82.61% / HADFIELD 14 85.71 %
MAN OF THE MATCH
GUILDFORD: BEN CAMPBELL
PHOENIX: MICHAL PSURNY
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