MANCHESTER PHOENIX 4 - 5 TELFORD TIGERS
(2-1 After penalty shots)
Sunday Night saw a very controversial game at the Altrincham Ice Dome as two calls going the way of the Visiting Telford Tigers seen the Shropshire side come back from two goals down, to win the match in a penalty shootout and leave the home side in all aspects seething with some very questionable decisions in a crazy third period.
Both
sides had come into the match on the back of losses on Saturday Night with the
Tigers losing at home to the Guildford Flames 6-2, while Manchester had lost in
a tough game down in Basingstoke, with the Bison coming out on top winning 4-2.
Phoenix
was missing key defenseman Rob Schnabel in the line up after he was injured in
the Basingstoke game. Schnabel got hit to his solar plexus in the first period
by a stick, which resulted in Manchester missing their big Czech D man for the
game against the Telford outfit. In
the first minute of play in the game, Joe Graham saw his shot deflected by
Robin Kovar as Declan Ryan made a stop in the Tigers nets, Kovar then had
another effort just go wide of the net as the home side started off brightly.
However
Phoenix seemed to be resorting to the same tactic in the opening 10 minutes of
play as they were breaking away and then trying to pass it to the back post
where there was no one coming in to put home most of the time. Richie Bentham
and Ex- Tigers player Andy McKinney went on a breakaway for the home side and
saw Liam Chong skating hard to get to the back post and get contact on it, but
Ryan was quick to deny him.
Manchester
then went on the power play after Nathan Salem was called for Tripping at 6:38
in the game. Manchester didn`t make use of the extra man advantage as one
attack summed up the Phoenix play while on the power play, that being when the
passing was slow and pedestrian at best. Bakrlik was the shooter on the point
ready to blast one and when the puck came towards him, he went to one time it
from the blue line but saw his stick brake and brought an end to the play as
Manchester was stop start as the game was becoming very scrappy now.
Telford
were starting to frustrate the home side now with their good defensive display
and were out playing Phoenix in the opening period so much, that with good
pressure and play it saw Telford take a lead at 11:20. Slovakian Marek
Mikusovic had an effort which Steve Fone saved and then saw the rebound from
Nathan Salem stopped to by Fone as well but the netminder couldn`t stop the
third shot as Mikusovic scored for the Tigers as they led 1-0.
Phoenix
almost scored from the restart when Psurny and Hand broke away on a 2 on 1,
only for a Tigers Defenceman to block Tony Hand shot on goal and clear the
danger for the Tigers. Ben Wood then had an effort on goal which saw his shot
whistle past the Tigers net, however Phoenix kept possession still and saw the
puck flash across the face of goals with no one there to score.
Phoenix
almost drew level when Hand let loose a shot which was saved by Ryan but it was
spat out straight to James Archer and the forward just couldn`t put it in to
tie the game.
There
was chaos at the other end then, when the puck seemed to settle next to Fone
near post and saw a mad a scramble as the puck came loose in the Phoenix crease
and Fone dived onto the puck to get the whistle, Phoenix were playing far below
the standard they had so far this year. Then just before the 1st break Joe
Graham was called for Hooking at 18:15 as the Tigers went into the break the
happier side by far.
Phoenix
in the second period looked a lot brighter and more cohesive than in the 1st by
a distance. Manchester managed to kill off the power play that the Tigers were
on and then minutes later drew level, when Tony Hand scored to make it 1-1 at
21:50.
The
home side then created a chance with Hand and Bakrlik all skating forward
before Bakrlik lost control of the puck in the Tigers Zone, till he battled
back to win it and then laid it off for Luke Boothroyd and Ryan flashed a glove
to stop the defender from giving them the lead.
Liam
Chong and a Telford player collided at mid ice to which Chong picked himself up
from the deck and got in position at the front of the net to which he direct
the puck on goal, but only to see Ryan yet again stop him and then the puck got
played across goals where James Archer was waiting and with a huge target to
aim at, but Ryan while down made a breathtaking save to rob Archer as all
Phoenix players and fans alike couldn`t believe he saved it.
Telford
then retook the lead at 27:35 when a bit of scramble at the front of Phoenix
occurred and when danger looked to be averted, Callum Bowley appeared from
nowhere and just lifted it high into the Phoenix nets for a 2-1 lead as Phoenix
defend just stood there like statues with the goal a bit against the run of
play in the second.
Less
than a minute later Phoenix responded when a Robin Kovar shot was redirected in
past Dec Ryan, as he saw it trickle in to make the score 2-2 at 28:19.
Telford
then had a goal disallowed when a Phoenix player had got stuck in the back of
the net and with the goals off its moorings as well, it was was fairly clean
cut itwas no goal. The Phoenix player just managed to get out of the nets while
the nets were still off and once he skated towards to the bench, Telford put
the puck in the net and a couple wasn`t happy with the decision, but they knew
it wasn`t a goal despite less than half hearted protest, this wasn`t the only
disallowed goal in the game.. More on that later.
Tom
Watkins then got put in the box for Tripping at 33:26 in the game, while on
penalty kill Telford broke away on a 2 on 1 which seen Robin Kovar back check
for the Phoenix and managed to cut out a pass for the visitors and then managed
to skate up ice and have an effort himself which seen Ryan yet again stop
Phoenix.
At
35:25 the home side took the lead for the first time in the game when Bakrlik
broke down the left wing before he passed across ice to Kovar who put it home
to make it 3-2 Phoenix, with the home side starting to make their dominance
count now.
Telford
almost immediately hit back when a bouncing puck hit a few legs in front of
Fone and seen the puck bobbled just past the post and gave the home fans a huge
sigh of relief. Marek Mikusovic then got called for a horrible looking check
from behind on a Michal Psurny, that saw Psurny have no way to defend himself
and saw Hand skate right over to the Slovakian and have some VERY STRONG words
with the Tigers player over the incident, yet all he got was 2 minutes for
Cross Checks, when it should have been at least 2+10.
The
following power play saw Phoenix extend their lead to a 2 goal lead as Robin
Kovar made it 4-2 for the home side, with fellow Czech forward Michal Psurny
and Player Coach Tony Hand combining for Kovar to score as it sent the water
bottle flying off the nets at 39:11. That
looked at the time to have given Phoenix the edge in the game and Telford
seemed to have lost the momentum in the game as Manchester you thought would
try to snuff out all hope of a comeback from Telford..well it was going to all
go crazy in the third period.
.
Third
period saw one of the most Controversial period`s Phoenix have ever been
involved with at the Ice dome in their history, as firstly Manchester was
penalised for an Icing Infringement at 41:08 to which they successfully killed
off, then came the first of the two controversial decisions.
Phoenix
were on the attack and when the puck came to Czech forward Michal Psurny his
effort went past Ryan glove and struck the pipe work at the top of the net
inside the goal and bounced out for 5-2 with Psurny and Hand started to
celebrate as did everyone else in the Ice Dome, however referee Steve Brown who
was in as good of a position as you`ll ever get to be in, wave it off for a no
goal despite the red light coming on and everyone seeing the puck go in.
Psurny
remonstrated along Hand behind the play about the goal not being awarded and
saw Telford go right up the other end and saw Mikusovic pass the puck across
the face of goal for Adam Taylor to tap in to make it 4-3. An incensed Hand and
the normally cool and collected Michal Psurny along with a 1000 Manchester fans
was all fuming with the referee up that end of the ice for refusing to give a
perfectly good goal and no saw Phoenix a bit on the back foot.
The
boos were still ringing round the rink and if they weren`t impressed by the
officials on the Telford Tigers 3rd goal, then they would go ballistic over the
4th goal they score as the home side players were seething even more so with
the officials. As in the lead up to the goal there was then a blatant off side
call missed by the linesman and despite Phoenix fans and Phoenix players
shouting "OFFSIDE" the whistle never came and saw Nathan Salem then
put home for a 4-4 score line at 50-40 and the boos become even more anger
driven by the home fans, as the referees had well and truly lost of control of
this game now with their bad officiating.
Phoenix
in truth after the Psurny "goal" lost their heads too and never fully
focused properly after that incident, as now it was Telford in the ascendancy
in the match. Mikusovic had a great chance to give the visitors the lead late
on in the game when Luke Boothroyd stood on the puck just outside the Phoenix
zone, the Tigers forward collected the puck and saw him skate it back in and
saw his shot saved by Fone. As time dwindled away and so did the chance of a
game winner in regulation so we went to Overtime.
Phoenix
had the better of the chances in the extra period of play as Luke Boothroyd had
a couple of chances in the space of 20 seconds, as he went from one end to the
other and then battled back in the Tigers zone for the puck and managed get off
another effort.
Psurny
came close but Ryan stopped him and with the scores still deadlocked we then
went to the penalty shot. Phoenix went first though Michal Psurny, who was
still angry over the disallowed goal seen his penalty saved by Ryan.
Telford
then had Nathan Salem score for them before Robin Kovar tucked home his penalty
to make it 1-1, Marek Mikusovic missed his shot and when Luke Boothroyd took
the 3rd one for Phoenix and pulled it wide it then came down to Callum Bowley
who scored and gave Telford a very fortunate win under the circumstances and
left the Phoenix with a real nasty taste in their mouth over the 2 goals scored
by the Tigers in the 3rd.
Tony
Hand and Phoenix still argued with the match officials and saw Tony Hand pick
up a 10 misconduct penalty at the end as well to cap off the end of a
controversial third period and game.
game highlights: http://youtu.be/obQ3jTRQJ4M
No comments:
Post a Comment