EPL PLAYOFFS Semi finals: Flames late show and Phoenix win Classic! :UPDATED with Archer penalty shot

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 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!

  

BONUS: James Archer penalty shot 

 STATS: 

SHOTS ON GOAL:

BISON 35:   PHOENIX: 34

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NETMINDERS: 

Stevie Lyle (Basingstoke bison)  SAVE %  88.24 

Steve Fone (Manchester Phoenix)  SAVE %  88.57 

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PENALTY MINUTES: 

Basingstoke Bison: 20  Manchester Phoenix: 14 

MAN OF THE MATCH: 

Basingstoke: Alex Symonds        Manchester: Tom Duggan

DEL PLAYOFFS: UPDATE

Well a lot has happened since the last update were now at the Semi Final stages of the DEL PLAYFOFFS, In the First round games all  were best of 3 series we had the Augsburger Panthers v Straubing Tigers and the Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg v Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers from Nuremberg .

STRAUBING TIGERS WIN SERIES 2-0

Game 1 between the two sides ended up going the distance, Straubing took the lead in the match through Rene Kramer before the Panthers drew level courtesy of Derek Whitmore and Steffen Tolzer made it 2-1 for the home side till Karl Stewart tied the game for the Tigers. Then Nicholas Ross was given a 5+Game Misconduct for Checking with his knees, the game headed to OT where Michael Endrass scored the game winner in overtime to give the Tigers victory for a 1-0 series lead away from home. STRAUBING 3-2 OT

Game 2 they Straubing destroyed their opponents 4-1 with goals coming from Bernhard Keil, Tyler Beechy picking up 2 goals and Alexander Dotzler grabbing the fourth goal with Sergio Somma scoring a consolation goal for Augsburg and eliminating them from the Playoffs this season and Straubing moving on to the next round facing the Kolner Haie in the Quarter finals. STRAUBING 4-1

GRIZZLY ADAMS WOLFSBURG WIN SERIES 2-1

The other game was between Grizzy Adams Wolfsburg  & Nurnberg Ice Tigers, this series went down to a decider as the it was most tightly poised series between the two games.

GAME 1: The hosts opening the scoring in the series as Steven Rupprich scored for the Ice Tigers, Gregory Moore replied for Wolfsburg and in the third period Evan Kaufmann restored the lead for the Nurnberg. However the visitors came back again and tied it up with Benedict Carbon and the Robert Leask netted the winner for Nurnberg with 5 minutes to go. ICE TIGERS 3-2

GAME 2: Saw Grizzly Adams come out early taking a 2 goal lead thought Kai Hospelt and Sebastian Furchner. 19 seconds later Connor James scored to cut the lead in half before Aaron Brocklehurst scored a Power play goal for Wolfsburg to end the 1st period 3-1 up. Norman Milley added a fourth for Grizzly Adams with Sven Butenschon and Steven Reinprecht scoring for the Ice Tiger to set up a tense final period which Wolfsburg hung on to and ties the series. GRIZZLY ADAMS WOLFSBURG 4-1 

GAME 3: Saw the series decider in Nurnberg and the Ice Tigers got off to a good start opening the scoring with Steven Reinprecht, Norman Milley scored 2 goals to give the visitors the lead and with Matthew Dzieduszycki scoring a power play goal and Tyler Haskins adding 2 more to the score it was 4-1 for Wolfsburg. Yan Stastny pulled one back for Nurnberg with Justin Mercier killing the game off with an Empty net goal and near the end James Pollock score one more for the Ice Tigers to make it 5-3 for the Wolfsburg.

GRIZZLY ADAMS WOLFSBURG 5-3

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QUARTER FINALS ROUND      (BEST OF 7 SERIES)

KOLNER HAIE WIN SERIES 4-1

GAME 1: Kolner Haie shown they meant business as they thrashed the Tigers 6-1, Straubing took the lead and that was the only bit of joy to be had the game as Matthew Hussey scored on an early Power play chance. The wheels came off as a brace of goals from John Tripp led the way along with Marcel Ohmann, ex NHLer Marco Sturm, Christopher Minard and Philip Gogulla completing the rout for the home side, and showing them what they had in store for the rest of the series. KOLNER HAIE 6-1

GAME 2: Was a much more competitive game and feisty one too as Blaine Down scored an early power play goal with John Tripp replying later in the period. The game was penalty strewn with penalties abound and frustrations boiled over into the second period when Blaine Down and Torsten-Ankert dropped the gloves and Sebastian Osterloh went toe to toe with Marco strum at the end of the 2nd.  Straubing then took control of the game as they scored 3 successive goal though Rene Roethke, Alexander Dotzler and Blaine Down for  4-1 lead with Ales Kranjc pulling one back for the Kolner Haie. Rene Rothke scored an empty net goal shorthanded to give the Tigers a 5-2 lead and makes series 1-1. STRAUBING 5-2

GAME 3: This was the key game in the series as Kolner never looked back as they thrashed the Tigers with a shutout victory at home winning 5-0. Nathan Robinson and Felix Schutz both scored a double each and Gregory Claassen added the final goal to finish off the Tigers and inflict a heavy defeat on them. KOLNER HAIE 5-0

GAME 4: Straubing needed to win this game as it was vital they won their home games in the series; they started well as Sebastian Osterloh scored to give the home side the early lead. Then Kolner Haie went on a second period blitz as Nathan Robinson got them off and running and with Christopher Minard getting a power play goal and Marcel Ohmann scoring it was Robinson that grabbed his second of the game with another power play goal to give them a 4-1 lead at the end of the 2nd, The fans of Straubing were leaving the rink as they had had enough of watching their side get ripped apart by Kolner. Felix Schutz made it 5-1 before Dustin Whitecotton and a Florian Ondruschka power play effort made it 5-3 till an Alexander White Shorthanded empty netter saw the tigers off in game 4. KOLNER HAIE 6-3

GAME 5: Saw a much tighter affair between the two as Straubing was on the verge of the elimination and had to win the game to stay alive in the series. Marco Sturm power play goal gave Kolner Haie one foot in the next round. Matthew Hussey had other ideas as his effort went in to tie the game at 1-1 and so we went to Overtime and it was Philip Gogulla who ended the series as he scored past Jason Bacashihua to send Kolner Haie through.  KOLNER HAIE 2-1 OT

KREFELD PENGUINE WIN SERIES 4-2

GAME 1: A very bad tempered game was played out between the two sides as the Penguine drew first blood in the series with a 3-1 victory over the ERC Ingolstadt. It started off with Michel Periard scoring for Ingolstadt and then two power play goals in succession as Herberts Vasilijevs and Joshua Meyers scored them. 

Then hell broke loose as Martin Schymainski and Joseph Motzko got into and then less than 25 seconds later Francois Methot and Andreas Dreendl from Krefeld and Craig Weller and Kristopher Sparre from Ingolstadt all getting involved .The referee then kicked out Methot & Weller giving them both a Game Misconduct. In the final period Herberts Vasilijevs scored to make it 3-1 and give Krefeld game one. KREFELD PENGUINE 3-1

GAME 2: Once again it was ERC Ingolstadt that scored first through Joseph Motzko on the Power play with Mark Voakes replying soon after to pull level. Michel Periard scored on the power play and Jean-Francois Boucher added to their score and in the third period Joseph Motzko finished off Krefeld and made it 4-1. ERC Ingolstadt  4-1

GAME 3: Krefeld Penguins scored an early power play goal by Francois Methot and was cancelled out by Timothy Hambly getting his own Power play goal to tie the game. Herberts Vasilijevs made it 2-1 and in the third period Boris Blank scored a double late on including an empty net goal. But between them goals Mitja Robar and Joseph Motzko had a punch up and after all that Krefeld took a 2-1 series lead. KREFELD PENGUINE 4-1

GAME 4: Saw Krefeld penguin establish a 3-1 lead in the series as twice Ingolstadt came back to draw level before Herberts Vasilijevs scored the goal that saw the Penguine finally pull away. Goals from Boris Blank and Martin Schymainski saw them cross the line and on the final horn Alexander Oblinger was given a Game Misconduct after him and Kyle Sonnenburg got into some heated discussion. KREFELD PENGUINE  5-2

GAME 5: ERC Ingolstadt needed to win the match or their season would be over, Thomas Greilinger scored a power play goal in the early stages of game 5 and with Sean O Connor adding another goal towards the end the first period to give them hope. They held on to the 2-0 lead till halfway through the 3rd when Kevin Clark scored to make the final 10 minutes interesting, but they held on for a 2-1 win. ERC Ingolstadt 2-1 

GAME 6: Krefeld Penguine punished their opponents, but they had to come from behind after going 2-1 down early in the second , The Penguine scored 5 straight goals as Daniel Pietta scored from a Penalty shot and with further goals by Francois Methot, Boris Blank, Tomas Kurka. Timothy Conboy Sean O Connor for the home side exchanged pleasantries with Andreas Driendl and Elia Ostwald from Krefeld Penguine resulting in 2+2 for roughing, soon after Kevin Clark scored for a 6-2 lead at the end of the second stanza. Then Daniel Pietta scored a power play goal to rub salt in the wound and inflict further punishment on the home side and send the Penguine through to the Semi finals. KREFELD PENGUINE 7-2

EISBAREN BERLIN  WIN SERIES 4-2

GAME 1: This game was an incredible one as Hamburg took early control as their first was reviewed as Garrett Festerling stick looked to be high when it made contact knocking the puck in, after reviewing replays referees gave the goal and less than a minute after that it was 2-0 when Eric Schneider scored and got worse for the home side when Julian Jakobsen scored and when Thomas Dolak scored on the power play it was 4 unanswered goals and Berlin looked in disarray.

Second period the Polar bears made a effort to try and force their way back into the game and with 2 power play goals by Jullian Talbot and It Olver it gave hope heading into the final period. 3 goals in 3 minutes by Travis Mulock, Mads Christensen and Jens Baxmann gave Berlin a 5-4 lead and looked to have knocked the stuffing out of Hamburg with their astonishing comeback. Eric Schneider then tied the game with just over 3 minutes to go and so this crazy game took another twist. Overtime period came and with 69 minutes and 59 seconds in the game Travis Mulock stepped up and scores the overtime winner to complete a fantastic comeback. EISBAREN BERLIN 6-5 OT

GAME 2: Berlin took the lead late in the first period with an Andre Rankel goal shorthanded, Garrett Festerling replied for the home side early in second period. Barry Tallackson scored on the power play to give Eisbaren a 2-1 lead and when Therein Olver made it 3-1 it looked like they could hold and take a 2-0 series lead. However Hamburg did a reversal of game 1 this time they scored 4 goals in 3 minutes 35 seconds, With Colin Murphy, Eric Schneider and Thomas Dolak netting 3 in 2 minutes. Then Jerome Flaake scored with a power play goal with 25 seconds left to hand Berlin defeat and ties the series. HAMBURG FREEZERS 5-3

GAME 3: This was more like a flashback of game 1 as Hamburg took a 3-0 lead into the first break, Tyson Mulock then made it 3-1 and the comeback seemed on till Eric Schneider scored to make it 4-1and with further goals from Julian Jakobsen and Penalty shot by Robert Collins and then his seconds goal it made the job of coming back tougher than the last time. But they had a go as Berlin scored 2 power play goals in 20 seconds as Mads Christensen and It Olver scored for 7-3 and 4 minutes into the 3rd period Constantin Braun scored for 7-4 and with over 7 minutes to go Thomas Dolak stopped any possible comeback to make it 8-4 to Hamburg and give them a 2-1 series lead. HAMBURG FREEZERS 8-4

GAME 4: Was a game Berlin really had to avoid losing as if the Hamburg won this game you felt the series was done for the Polar bears. Hamburg took the lead through Brandon Reid and Travis Mulock responded soon after with a Power play goal to tie it up. David Wolf scored the go ahead goal for the Freezers as they keep their heads above Berlin, Jullian Talbot then scored 18 seconds from the end of the first period to make it 2-2 and the rest of the game was tense rough hockey. The tetchiness of the game was growing as Druval Westcott, David Wolf from Hamburg and Barry Tallackson & Therein Olver all received 2+2 for Roughing at 5:54 in the final period. The 2 sides couldn`t be separated so we headed once again to OT, Where it was Power play goal for Eisbaren Berlin that won the game as Jullian Talbot scored the game winner to tie series 2-2. EISBAREN BERLIN 3-2 OT

GAME 5:  Berlin played a patience game making sure they gave nothing to their opponents as they frustrated them and the process was Vincent Schlenker scoring and when Travis Mulock made it 2-0 late in the 2nd period, the plan seemed to be working. That was till Matthew Pettinger scored to give Hamburg so hope early and then Daniel Nielsen tied it up at 2-2 with just under 5 minutes left and seemed another overtime was heading the way of this series, but a twist right at the end of the game as Jens Baxmann scored with 1 second remaining in the game to give Berlin the series lead and 3-2 win on the night. EISBAREN BERLIN 3-22

GAME 6: Berlin had a chance to close out the series in Hamburg and when they scored 3 goals in the second period from a Power play goal by Barry Tallackson, Andre Rankel and Tyson Mulock it gave them a fantastic chance to see them through. But as they series shown nothing was easy or straight forward. Thomas Dolak scored 2 minutes into the final period and Brandon Reid scored with 4 minutes and 25 seconds left. Hamburg pushed in search of an equalizer but Eisbaren held on and won the series 4 games to 2 in a fantastic series. EISBAREN BERLIN 3-2

GRIZZLY ADAMS WOLFSBURG WIN SERIES 4-2

GAME 1: Adler Mannheim finished in first place in the standings and had the most rest so many would think they have the advantage. The game was a heavy hitting and typical playoff type of game and towards the end of the first Yannic Seidenberg had a coming together with Benedikt Schopper both picked up Roughing but the Wolfsburg got a 2+2+10 for misconduct thrown in too. Mannheim scored the opening goal of the series on the power play when Frank Wall score to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead and that lead was doubled when Matthias Palachta made it 2-0 in the first few minutes of the second.

Wolfsburg have battled in every game they have played in, in these playoffs so it was no surprised when they came back, and that just what they did when Norman Milley scored a power play goal and then minutes later Robert Bina scored to make it all square at 2-2. So this game went to overtime and 10:55 into the period Gregory Moore scored on the power play to give Wolfsburg the lead in the series. And take the win 3-2 in OT. GRIZZLY ADAMS WOLFSBURG 3-2 OT

GAME 2: It took 7 seconds for the first goal of the game to be scored when Yannic Seidenberg netted, Wolfsburg scored in the second period shorthanded though Sebastian Furchner and then Mannheim replied soon after with Janik Douglas Jr for 2-1. Kai Hospelt scored 27 seconds before the 2nd break and with no further goals in 3rd we headed to overtime for 2nd game running. However after 2 goalless periods of hockey in the 3rd overtime period we finally had a winner when Matthias Palachta scored to give Mannheim a 3-2 win in OT. ADLER MANNHEIM 3-2

GAME: 3 Was a very tight game between the 2 as the defences on both played terrific and the only goal in the entire 60 minutes of the game came from Wolfsburg as Benedikt Schopper scored 10:32 into the 3rd period. Mannheim looked in search of the goal to draw the game but couldn`t and so Daniar Dshunussow blanked the Eagles in Mannheim turning away 36 shots and picking up a shutout for his troubles.  GRIZZLY ADAMS WOLFSBURG 1-0

GAME 4: Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg carried on their defensive form and stopped all attacks by Mannheim. All the good defensive work by Wolfsburg was paying dividends as their attack play brought them a goal on the power play as Alksander Polaczek scored at the end of the 1st period. Wolfsburg were still defending well from the 1st placed side in the league and Wolfsburg doubled their lead when Tyler Haskins made it 2-0   before an empty goal by Gregory Moore from the halfway line went in to give them a 3-0 lead and 1 win away from the Semi finals.  GRIZZLY ADAMS WOLFSBURG 3-0

GAME 5: Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg took a 2-0 lead into the first break with goals by Tyler Haskins and Aaron Brocklehurst. The defensive resistance came unstuck as Adler Mannheim scored 2 goals in under 2 minutes as first Kenneth Magowan scored and then Frank Mauer made it 2-2. So for the 3rd time in this series a win of 3-2 in overtime occurred as Mannheim took the spoils this time around staving off being eliminated as Florian Kettemer scored 2:42 into overtime period. ADLER MANNHEIM 3-2 OT

GAME 6: Mannheim needed to win again to keep the series going and take it to a deciding game 7. Wolfsburg struck first as Gregory Moore scored a power play goal to give the home side a lead, Then Adler Mannheim scored late on with Christoph Ullmann and Yannic Lehoux on the power play.

Wolfsburg then had Aleksander Polasczek score to make it 2-2 on the power play and then Vincenz Mayer made it 3-2. In the final period Frank Wall made it 3-3 the score with 5:15 into the 3rd period, the game was nicely poised till Aaron Brocklehurst got what turned out to be the winning goal and series decider at 8:37 into the period. Mannheim pulled the goalie for the extra attacker to get the goal they needed, But they couldn`t so the top seeds of the Playoffs were knocked out.  GRIZZLY ADAMS WOLFSBURG 4-3

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PHOENIX REACH EPL FINALS WEEKEND!

MANCHESTER PHOENIX   7-2 BRACKNELL BEES  (PHOENIX WIN AGG:10-6 )

"Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, were going to Coventry! Que sera sera" That was the lasting sounds of the Ice dome in Altrincham Sunday night as Manchester Phoenix booked their place at Coventry Sky dome arena next weekend with a 7-2 win over the Bracknell Bees in a slightly bad tempered game.

The Phoenix were trailing 4-3 from the first leg down at the Hive in Berkshire, So Manchester knew a early goal would help them as they needed a good start to try and settle the nervous a bit. Manchester was by reports not that great in the first leg so they wanted to make amends for the poor performance the night before at Bracknell. Phoenix was behind in the tie all game as they drew level 3 times only for the Bees to score the go ahead goal every time. So as we rolled onto Sunday evening it was expected to be a rough, physical playoff game and it was!

FIRST PERIOD 

Game started off with referee Andy Miller dropping the puck and so the Second leg was off, Phoenix dominated the game as they had most of the play and tested Tom Annetts in the Bees net early as they were pushing hard for the early goal. Annetts wasn`t playing that well as he looked quite nervous as when tried to freeze the puck he was scrambling and pushing it away and had the luck of the defensemen to help him cover up. Bracknell was putting the heavy hits on the Phoenix players but equally so were Phoenix as the early stages shown to be real Playoff game.

The over physical play was clamped down a lot by the referee as he was trying to keep it a physical game without stepping over the line. Bracknell went on the penalty kill after Sam Oakfield was given 2 minutes for SLASHING at 4:30, Phoenix had a normal power play for them as they resorted to a dump and chase method. Only problem was the dumping of the puck was done too far away and by the time the puck was in the Bees zone they had collected it and shot it down the other end by time the Phoenix player was nearby.

Bracknell successfully killed the penalty off and the hitting and physical play was rising.

Bees were in penalty trouble again as James Galazzi stopped the dashing Tom Duggan as he entered the zone and a leg came out and tripped up the Phoenix dynamo that timed at 8-34 for TRIPPING, Phoenix power play was a lot more better as the 2nd line made a lot of movement and dragged the Bees defensemen out of position like you should and had a few good chances, Annetts was keeping the puck out and normally the attacking team gets frustrated. However they weren`t they seemed more determined and when Jan Bendik was put in the box for CLIPPING after bringing down Liam Chong at 10-24.

Pavel Strycek was the 3rd Bees player in as many minutes to be penalised by Referee Miller at 11-50 for CROSS CHECKS and the resulting power play finally brought a goal as Joachim Flaten scored from a great pass by Tony Hand as his pass from the side of the net resulted in the Norwegian forward putting home for 1-0 on the night 4-4 overall, with Luke Boothroyd getting an assist on the power play goal. At 12-33.

This seemed to sting (no pun intended) Bracknell into action as they had a couple of chances on Steve Fone but the Phoenix goaltender stood up to all shots and looked in good form.

Phoenix had chance upon chance to score more goals but them weren`t finding the target or the shots weren`t clinical finishes. Bracknell was coming into the game more as they were trying to play hockey but often than not they resorted to what brought them where they are physical play bordering on the line and score on the breakaways.  Phoenix defensively was very solid and looked comfortable at the back nearly all game, there was times when they had Phoenix scrambling around when the Bees was round the net. Bracknell were pushing for the goal to retake the lead in the tie again and they were getting more possession but making it count. However Phoenix broke off down the ice and with time running down Hand found Michal Psurny his pass went to Joachim Flaten and after his first effort was blocked he made no mistake with his second effort and put it low in the corner for a 2-0 lead with 2 seconds on the board at 19-58, The Phoenix players had huge smiles on their collective faces even the player coach was grinning.

Phoenix were the only hockey side in the period as Bees were resorting to over physical play which cost them penalties but it`s a tactic they use and it`s got them to the Playoffs so not popular but if it works for you keep at it.

Second Period

Alan Lack was sent to the box at 26-08 for ROUGHING for some roughness in the Bees zone in the corner, Phoenix scored off the penalty as it was a brilliant solo goal by the towering Czech Rob Schnabel as he skated from one end to another gliding past the Bees like nothing and left a lovely wrist shot go and beat the net minder for a 3-0 lead and (6-4 lead). The goal was assisted by James Archer at 27-27. Then we saw a embarrassing attempt at trying to draw a penalty as Scott Spearing purposely skated into Fone moving the net off the mooring and was can be best described as a faint push led to the Bracknell player looking rather foolish and going down on the ice as James Neil just seem to do a defenseman job if you touch the net minder, More taps than anything and Everyone looked embarrassed at the display as the ref looked on as he gave him a look of "are you finished?"

Then we had the big flashpoint of the game. Play was whistled as Fone froze the puck and then that man again Scott Spearing was trying anything to spark his team so he gave a few checks at Ondrej Pozivil who originally just laughed at him as Spearing was giving harder pushes in his chest as he was trying to draw him into a fight or at the very least a penalty. Spearing was loosening his gloves as the linesmen came in then one linesmen stepped away allowing Spearing to continue the baiting Pozivil looked to be heading to the bench then turned fully round to face Spearing and threw a head butt his way.

The resulting penalties came out as Spearing got a 2 for ROUGHING and a 10 minute MISCONDUCT penalty and for Phoenix Pozivil got given a 10 + Match for HEADBUTTS all penalties timed at 28-21.

After all that commotion we got back to normality or hockey at least and Andy McKinney scored to make it 4-0 at 29-58 and the heads of Bracknell had dropped and seemed like the way they played or wasn`t allowed to given the controlled officiating they wasn`t getting away with much as Phoenix was wanting to concentrate on hockey as when Phoenix face tactics of being bullied off the puck they have focused on the hockey and let the opponents take the penalties and this was much the same as them games. The Bees were getting frustrated at everything as they couldn`t find a way score past Fone and were leaking them in at the back.

Then Martin Masa went to the box for HOOKING at 31-51 as he brought down a Manchester so seemed to be through on goal but referee just gave a penalty instead.  Phoenix couldn`t make anything of it this time around. Bracknell had the puck and as they were getting very aggressive in the Phoenix zone as the puck was thrown around the crease Schnabel tripped up a Bee and so Bracknell played 30 seconds or so with the extra man as they were had a delayed penalty coming. Eventually Schnabel touched the puck and sat for 2 for TRIPPING at 32-51. Right near the end of the penalty on Phoenix, Bracknell had possession of the puck and was on the attack when the puck came to one player by the team bench and Bracknell had about 6 or 7 players on the ice at one time which drew loud shouts from the players, the bench and stands of "TOO MANY MEN” and so the linesman signalled too many men so they picked up the bench minor at 34-10.

Period came to a close as the game seemed to be over already, however everyone said that of the Telford game so they had to be switched on for the whole 20 minutes to progress.

Third Period

Martin Masa tried to replicate the Schnabel goal for Bracknell shortly into the final stanza as he broke away from 2 players and was tripped up by Boothroyd as he was heading into the Phoenix zone so he sat for TRIPPING that coming at 41-40, Resulting in a power goal for the Bees as Lukas Smital and Jan Bendik moved play a Bendik shot was tipped in at close range by Ollie Bronnimann at the front of the net to make it 4-1 (8-5) overall.

Bracknell found them in more penalty trouble as this time it was Pavel Strycek who was called for HOLDING THE STICK at 42-18. Phoenix had a lot of chances but wasn`t finding twine on the power plays. Moments after the Bees killed it off Phoenix scored their 5th of the night as a Rocket from the blue line off Schnabel when in assisted by Andy McKinney at 45-28 and with the overall score at 9-5 the contest was all but over.

James Archer was then sent to the box for HIGH STICKS thought his stick never came up Roughing was more likely to be called as his glove came up, but the ref gave it as high sticks at 48-53 and again Bees took advantage as from the faceoff Bees got the puck after Phoenix player coach felt he was tripped as he was down lifted his arms for the call which never came and Smital shot it past Fone for a  5-2 score line and Hand was incensed the goal counted as he felt he was impeded on the play by Smital who scored the goal.

Less than a minute later Andy Munroe was called for INTERFERENCE at 50-21 and Phoenix scored from the power play as Captain Luke Boothroyd slap shot went over the shoulder of Annetts in goal as it seemed to hit something on the way as it looked like something from a Mighty ducks film, Tony Hand and Michal Psurny picked up assists on the goal clocked at 51-10.  The final 5 minutes seemed to be played at a slower pace but still had time for Lukas Smital to Cross Check a Phoenix player in the back and to the ice which Referee called and Smital then shoulder barged Miller over the call. He refused to go to the box until he spoke to the ref as he tried to dodge out of the way of the linesmen blocking the player from the ref.

He continued to argue and so picked up a 10 minute MISCONDUCT penalty along with a CROSS CHECKS call to at 56-20. Phoenix finished the scoring as Andy McKinney scored unassisted at 57-04 and so led the chants of "Que Sera sera” around the rink from the Phoenix faithful as they booked their place in the Semi finals against the Basingstoke Bison next Saturday night. So Manchester signed off their season in front of their home crowd with a win and hopefully can capture silverware in the Coventry Sky dome.

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Overall great team performance by Manchester only sour note was the Pozivil incident but they head down to Coventry next weekend for the EPL FINALS weekend alongside Basingstoke who they meet Saturday evening , the Milton Keynes Lightning and the Double winner this year and hoping to make it a grand slam the Guildford Flames.

STATS:

SHOTS ON GOAL:

PHOENIX:  28 shots on Steve Fone    (Save percentage 92.86%)

BEES:  47 SHOTS on Tom Annetts (85.71%) and 2 on Carl Ambler (85.71%)

PENALTY IN MINUTES:

PHOENIX: 18 PIMS   BEES: 42 PIMS

LINKS:  

OFFICIAL MANC PODCAST! 

http://manchesterphoenix.blogspot.com/2013/03/bees-displease-but-phoenix-proceeds.html?spref=bl