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Last weekend saw the traditional EPL PLAYOFF FINALS played out of the Skydome Arena in Coventry. The final 4 teams that contested these playoffs were the Milton Keynes Lightning, Manchester Phoenix runners up in the table the Basingstoke Bison and the double winners Guildford Flames, Guildford were gunning for a treble having beat Slough Jets in the EPL Cup and winning the League title for the second year running. Saturday semi finals saw the afternoon match involve the League Champions Guildford flames battle the Milton Keynes Lightning and the evening match saw the Basingstoke Bison play the Manchester Phoenix.
GUILDFORD FLAMES 3
- 2 MILTON KEYNES LIGHTNING
GUILDFORD FLAMES 3
- 2 MILTON KEYNES LIGHTNING
Guildford began their search of a Treble with Milton Keynes Lightning in the first semi final of the day; the game was officiated by Thompson and Pering with Hamilton and Beresford working the lines. The atmosphere in the Coventry Skydome was rocking with fans packed into a sell out arena as the 3,000 plus crowd inside with fans covering all sides in the EPL (English Premier League). The neutral fans were supporting obviously the Milton Keynes Lightning as nobody in the Skydome Arena wanted Guildford Flames to sweep the board of trophies this season. And so as the Players came out to a huge cheer from their respective fans both sides went through their final preparations for the Semi final and after the players were introduced to the crowd and the national anthem was over the players got organised and so we awaited the start of the 2013 EPL PLAYOFFS WEEKEND..
1st period
Milton Keynes were the brighter side going close early on in the game with chances and pressuring the Flames as they controlled the puck and played well to stay in the Guildford zone quite a lot. MK were very aggressive in their play with the Defensemen pinching well for the Lightning as Guildford didn`t have much of an answer early on. Guildford had some breakaways but was easily saved by Stephen Wall in the Lightning nets as he looking solid. Lightning was first to be on the penalty kill as Michael Farn was put in the box for TRIPPING at 5-57, so while he was in the box Guildford had a chance to get into the game by way of a power play.
We then had the first goal of the game during the power play ,however it went to Milton Keynes as at 6:14 a terrible pass by a Flames defencemen was under hit straight to Adam Carr who skated towards goal and backhanded an effort past Mark Lee for a 1-0 lead which was thoroughly deserved lead for Nick Poole men.
Lightning joy was short lived as 77 seconds later Rick Plant and Josef Kohut set up Nathan Rempel to score at 7:31 as the Flames tied the game on the power play. Less than a minute later there was a line scuffle as Grant McPherson was penalized on the play and as play carried on McPherson hit a Flames and while the Flames player was in the ice Dean Holland skated over with looked close to a forearm smash on the Young Scottish forward till all hell broke loose and it was a full line brawl with MK Finnish forward Janne Jokila dragging Holland from the pile and trying to rain punches in while trying to be separated by the linesmen, which was a very difficult job.
Penalties handed out went for Guildford Dean Holland was given 2 for CHARGING and 2 for ROUGHING while Milton Keynes penalty was McPherson 2 for SLASHING and Jokila getting 2+2 for ROUGHING all timed at 8-27. Farn and Jokila were playing fantastic for the Lightning getting under their skin with Farn chippy and hard working play and Jokila was turning the Flames inside out with great plays down deep in the offensive zone. Lightning dominated the period with fast attacking play and cut out the offensive plays by the Flames, though when they did get past the defense they came up against a tough nut to crack in Stephen Wall still.
And so the first break was 1-1 but MK was firmly in patrol in the game, but the scoreboard was saying different.
2nd period
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Milton Keynes carried on where they left off as they were by far the most attacking side and disciplined side in going forward and building momentum and growing in confidence as they kept the pressure on Guildford as the Flames just didn`t look like a team that was league champions as they were outplayed and out muscled for a majority of the game. Janne Jokila and Michael Farn were immense for the Lightning as they were really upping their game in the second period.
Farn was all over the place whether it was in Defence or getting forward he was causing problems as Guildford struggled to get anything going whatsoever in the game as the game play was working magnificently for the Lightning as any attacking threat Guildford was posing was stopped by the defense men and Stephen Wall in the nets. Guildford found themselves back on the power play as Milton Keynes Lightning was called for an ICING INFRINGEMENT at 22-03. So with the man advantage they looked for the go ahead goal but was denied by Stephen Wall who was like a brick wall stopping all shots that came in.
MK retook the lead as Daniel Harris and Grant McPherson was moving the puck around and when the pass came to the point Michael Farn released a slap shot from the blue line that seemed to catch Mark Lee out and beat him as the puck went high over his shoulder for a 2-1 lead at 27.31 in the period. MK then got a power play of their own as Andy Hemmings was sent to the box for 2 minutes for INTERFERENCE at 28-44, The Flames though killed the penalty off and they seemed around about this time to slowly ease their way back into the game.
Josef Kohut was given a 2+10 for CHECKING TO THE HEAD as Blaz Emeric was in control of the puck by the boards and as he was bring the puck away from goal looking for a shooting lane Kohut came in with a high shot to the head which knocked down Emersic and was called by the near official as Emersic gestured it was a head shot as he was pointing to his helmet, So Kohut sat for 10 minutes at 33-43 and ruled him out till the 3rd period.
So with 1 period to go the Lightning was holding a 1 goal lead, but even though the Flames were trying to mount a comeback MK were by far the best side in this opening semi final game.
3rd period
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The final period saw the Guildford Flames finally turn up as they now rocking and rolling now as they tested Stephen Wall more and put the Lightning defence now under pressure really for the first time in the game. Milton Keynes seemed to be losing focus at times and not capitalizing on previous chances in they had the previous two periods and was looking like that may hurt them as Flames were turning up the heat now as they looked very threatening when in attack now compared to the first 40 minutes of play.
Flames did tie the game up at 42-06 when Jez Lundin was looking for options found an open David Longstaff and the former Great Britain forward took aim and fired at Wall to which it looked like the goal tender had it covered up but it squeezed through the pads of his and went in for 2-2 and the game then change. Both sides was deciding how to go about their plans as there was passages of play where it was end to end and then it was very tight defences taking over and was a cat & mouse type of period.
Jokila was the main threat for the Lightning as he was getting into good positions and was finding Lee in nets as the only stumbling block when it came to the finishing touch. Time was creeping up towards the end of the game as there was 5 minutes to play and the game was being stretched a bit now as both sides were hunting for this elusive goal to send them in to the final. Time was ticking down and then came huge heartache for the MK Lightning fans as at 57-21 Ben Campbell and Branislav Kvetan tried to evade the defensemen finding a shooting lane his shot on Wall was stopped but the bounce of the MK goaltenders pads hit Nathan Rempel stick as he awaited any rebound that could happen and so when it did he tucked home and the Flames players went ballistic as they celebrated the late effort.
Lightning players and fans were left deflated as they had seen their side completely boss the game for two periods and now found themselves looking down the barrel at defeat. As the clock ticked down they pulled Wall for the extra attacker and tried to forced the game into overtime, sadly for them they just ran out of steam as it was like Guildford had the Muhammad Ali rope a dope tactic as the Milton Keynes seemed to have tired themselves out in the opening two period and Guildford as Champions do found a way to come back and steal victory right at the death. Horn sounded for the end of the game and as the Flames fans rejoiced in victory and always most relief at coming through they knew they had got out of jail and would have to play far better in the final if they were to land the treble.
Stats:
SHOTS ON GOAL
GUILDFORD FLAMES: 25 SHOTS
MILTON KEYNES LIGHTNING: 34 SHOTS
NETMINDERS:
FLAMES: Mark Lee 34 shots faced 94.12%
LIGHTNING: Stephen Wall 24 shots faced 92.00%
PENALTY MINUTES:
GUILDFORD: 22 MILTON KEYNES: 10
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Guildford Flames: Nathan Rempel
Milton Keynes Lightning: Michael Farn
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BASINGSTOKE BISON 4 - 5 MANCHESTER PHOENIX
(AFTER
SHOOTOUT 3 - 2)
After the late drama of the first semi final we moved onto the second semi final to be played at the Skydome Arena in Coventry, As the Runners up in the EPL Basingstoke Bison faced off against the Manchester Phoenix. The history between the two sides in the league was a record of 5-1 to the Herd with the solitary win coming for Manchester in the last meeting between the 2 back in March when they thrashed the Bison 6-2 in Altrincham. This was Manchester 4th visit in a row to the Playoffs as they previous reached two Semi finals and hoped to go one step further this year compared to last year’s when they were beat in the Playoff final by the Slough Jets.
For Bison this was a new experience as they had never qualified for the Playoffs weekend since them and their opponents had both left the Elite League to move to the EPL, But with Doug Sheppard at the helm this season they had ran the Flames close in the league and with the players at their disposal like Alex Symonds, Greg Owen, Greg Chambers, Stevie Lyle and Jaroslav Cesky they have the tools to get to the top and win silverware. But for some reason they had a bit of slump and cost them in the League and Cup respectively so this much like Manchester was a chance to get their hands on a trophy.
Both teams entered the ice with both using the far end of the rink to come onto the ice which was a bit strange as in warm up Phoenix had to moved benches due to the Bison using the official away dressing room,
So as the players skated round and we had the formalities of the national anthem and last second instructions it was go time and we awaited the referee to drop the puck as we had or this match Cloutman and Szucs with Brooks and Hogarth on the lines.
1st period
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We expected a great semi final and it didn`t disappoint, It was the Bison that came out of the blocks quick and hard as they pressured Phoenix very early on and would set the tone for the whole period. Manchester was just not at the races at all and Steve Fone had to be on his metal as he was called upon quite a lot in the opening stages. Czech sniper Jaroslav Cesky had the first good chance as he went through the Phoenix defence and brought out a save from Steve Fone who really was keeping his side on level terms as his team mates had a lot to thank him for. Basingstoke thought they had scored when Fone covered the puck and when a crowd of players came in the puck was shoved in but was ruled instantly out for man in the crease as there were about 5 players in the crease at the time.
A call on Phoenix captain Luke Boothroyd for SLASHING at 3-53 was given as the Bison stampeding over their opponents to be honest and Boothroyd intervention stopped a chance for the Bison but put his side on the penalty kill. Bison couldn`t make any head way on the power play as Fone as the defence did a good job on the penalty kill, Then at 8-27 a James Neil strike gave Manchester a goal against the run of play as it was Phoenix first chance in the game and has to be was very taken by the young Nottingham native. Joachim Flaten and Michal Psurny were given assists on the first goal and the 500 strong Phoenix fans who had travelled in numbers were hoping this would kick-start their team and drive on from here.
It didn`t... in fact it did the complete opposite as Basingstoke got more in to the game as they peppered Fone and Phoenix were under the cosh. With all the hard working forwards and good plays by the whole Bison side it reaped the rewards as Alex Symonds broke up the ice and Greg Chambers passed to Greg Owen and his quick turn and release beat Fone as it went in the bottom corner at 11-21 and the large contingent of Bison fans celebrated the equalizer. Phoenix were back on the penalty kill when a terrible decision by Cloutman was given, As Rob Schnabel put a body check on a Bison player on the blue line as the Bison player turned and they collided, Fair and clean but the view from the official down the other end was it was illegal although the referee in the end it happen saw the incident and gave nothing. So the ex NHLer sat in the box for 2 minutes for CHARGING at 13-55.
Phoenix or more so Fone was outstanding as he denied any chance Bison made, However though as the period was coming to the end Joe Greener and Jaroslav Cesky set up player coach Doug Sheppard who out thought Steve Fone and pulled the goalie out of position and he tucked home for a 2-1 lead for Basingstoke at 18:03 as we went into the first period break.
2nd period
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Second period Manchester Phoenix came out like a different team as they upped their game and the matched the Bison better than they did in the first by miles. Fone again pulled off a good save to deny
Joe Greener the chance to extend the Bison lead and from that save Phoenix went up the other end of the ice through Michal Psurny and Tony Hand was there to tie the game with the fast reaction to the puck for a 2-2 game at 24-10 and now this semi final was well and truly on.
Manchester had their first power play of the game as Carl Graham had been tussling with Phoenix dynamo forward Tom Duggan and after he roughed him up by the boards and tripped him up finally a call came for TRIPPING but was really take your pick for the call as there was a few different calls you could have made that was at 25-26. Phoenix power play as is a tradition was poor and wasn`t long before they lost out as Schnabel went for HOOKING at 26-39 and gave the Bison a power play opportunity and their chances were made even greater when James Archer was called for SLASHING at 27-19.
The Penalty Kill for Phoenix was exceptional as they quelled any danger and of course having your goal tender in hot form helps a lot to. both sides had great chances to take the lead as Joe Miller was robbed by Steve Fone with a flying save and then a Pass up ice by Hand to Psurny who was one on one was fantastically saved by Lyle in nets.
Greg Chambers then sat for 2 minutes for INTERFERENCE at 33-38 the Phoenix was working a good power play and tested Stevie Lyle quite a bit, as the Phoenix started to build an attack from behind the own goal Joe Rand went down and Tony Hand was given a 2 minute Penalty for INTERFERENCE which he disputed and gestured he had dived, that was times 34-01. Phoenix came close to taking the lead as a Joachim Flaten effort struck the crossbar and they pressed and pressed for this lead.
The Phoenix fans were treating Lyle all period to chants of "LYYYYLE" and as the period went on the chant became louder and louder and was starting to get to the Welshman as he made a couple of uncharacteristic errors by the normally solid net minder. But as he was being heckled he still managed to pull off one of the best saves of the weekend when he moving one way and looked behind him as the puck was going and flashed his glove while turning and showed that he is still one of the best goaltenders in the UK.
Doug Sheppard then sat for 2 minutes for INTERFERENCE at 38-51 and Finally Phoenix made their attacking threat pay off as Luke Boothroyd got control of the puck and fed it to Joachim Flaten who shot was partially saved by Lyle and the goalie lost sight and trickled in for a 3-2 lead at 39-29 to give them a 1 goal lead to take into the final period as Bison players looked a bit dejected over the goal.
3rd period
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Final period saw a very frenetic, fast paced and tense one 3rd stanza, first off we had a bit of controversy as a clearance around the boards hit the corner where the home dressing room is and so shot out to an angle and came to Greg Chambers and as he shot the puck went over the line and the referee was unsighted of the goal and the goal judge hadn`t put the light on. This led to Bison players screaming it was a goal and it wasn`t given leading to Jaroslav Cesky having a complete meltdown as he lost the plot smashing his stick on the glass and shouting aggressively towards the goal judge leading to Greg Owen skating over to grab him and restrain the irate forward as he had to hold him and then grabbed him putting his arms behind his back like he was being arrested.
Cloutman gave the forward a 10 minute MISCONDUCT penalty and his team mates were pleading and trying to calm the forward down a bit. The referee had ruled he`d washout the goal and then he tried to talk to him leading to him coming to the benches and speaking to him so he could hear him and so after consultation gave the goal at 42-51. The score changed once again 59 seconds later as Michal Psurny shot one from the blue line and flew past Stevie Lyle to regain the lead for Manchester and lead 4-3 at 43-50 with Rob Schnabel and Tony Hand getting credited with assists.
But back came Basingstoke again and tied it up thanks to Joe Greener and Doug Sheppard after a poor clearance by Tom Duggan to start it off from his own zone was collected and kept in by Greener he found Sheppard and Miller provided the finishing touch to tie the game at 4-4 and made it a very tense exciting game for the rest of the period. Phoenix had found themselves in penalty trouble again as they were given a Bench penalty for DELAY OF GAME AT 50-16 and 29 seconds later Luke Boothroyd was given 2 for CROSS CHECKS at 50-45.
Phoenix really was magnificent in the penalty killing all game as the defence defended resolutely and stopped all shots and when they didn`t Fone was seeing the puck and saving it. Basingstoke themselves got caught for DELAY OF GAME at 52-02 as well and Phoenix pressured for the goal to take the lead but Lyle denied Phoenix with some great saves and when Bison themselves broke Fone was making equally as good saves too. It became a bit of one up`s man ship between the duelling goaltender as one made one save and the other made a better save and was exciting to watch as this game was end to end and a fantastic advert for the EPL and ice hockey in general.
The final 5 minutes both sides went at it more as they didn`t want to go into overtime, both sides were stretched all over with chances coming at a break neck speed and neither side finding the twine as the goalies were on top and the tension around the arena was building as it was played like a sudden death period with the next mistake resulting the team capitalising on the error would win it. Neither team could make the breakthrough so we went into overtime and penalties if needed.
Overtime
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Not much really happened in overtime period Bison had more of the puck but didn`t really cut out any clear cut chances as the defences cut out any threats and looked like they would both take they chances in the lottery of the penalty shoot out.
SHOOT-OUT
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First up was Michal Psurny for the Phoenix his penalty beat Lyle and Phoenix went 1-0, Bison first shooter was Jaroslav Cesky his effort beat Fone as he dragged him out of position and tuck it home for 1-1.
Second round saw Luke Boothroyd take Phoenix 2nd shot and as he made a move Lyle committed early and the puck bobbled on the ice leaving the Phoenix captain unable to take a shot, Bison then had Joe Rand step up and he scored for 2-1 Bison and leaving Phoenix in must score scenario.
Third round was Bari McKenzie the 3rd shooter, the Scottish forward made a little move shooting and there was a few seconds where nothing happened and the Bison fans all rose to their feet thinking the penalty was saved when in fact it had come loose and trickled in over the line to extend the shootout, Joe Miller had the task to end the game knowing if he scored it was over.
The Welshman skated in on goal and was stopped by Fone and Miller looked like he felt he had lost the game for the Bison with his body language. So we headed to Sudden Death... James Archer came out for Phoenix and put Lyle on his back side and lifted the puck over him by inches to make it 3-2 Phoenix, But Lyle came within a whisker away from stopping it. So we had Doug Sheppard take the Bison penalty and if he didn`t score it was game over.
Sheppard skated on goal and Lifted too much and went over the bar and sent Phoenix into the EPL PLAYOFFS FINAL for the 2nd year running. But unlike last year where they were won on penalties and had a feel of a loss than a win to it, This time around the players were bouncing all over the place and there was a massive change in the attitude of the team than last year.
SO we had a red hot match between the 2 pyro based teams in PHOENIX & the FLAMES in the EPL FINAL!
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