Game Night Report: Hull Stingrays

Peterborough Phantoms 6 Hull Stingrays 3 (Pre-Season)

Not being a professional (or even semi-professional) sportsman I can only imagine that you want certain things to go your way on your home debut.  If sportsmen lie awake wondering what the new season holds for them and whether they’ll impress the amassed ranks of paying punters, then maybe the raft of new signings to the Phantoms’ roster slept soundly in their beds on Saturday night.

Make no bones about it, there will be sterner challenges ahead.  The Hull Stingrays are possibly further behind in their preparations for the new season than the Phantoms, who appear to have bonded well this week and for whom the team ethos stands out loud and proud.  Hull also only had 15 players, including their netminders.  Given such a short bench the Stingrays were up against it for large portions of the game, though it is worth noting that they peppered the Phantoms goal frequently, running up more shots on goal in the game than did the Phantoms.

Debutant Milan Baranyk notched the first goal after 43 seconds in a first period littered by penalties, and it was the Czech forward who finished the Phantoms goal scoring after 48 minutes.

In between, there was plenty to keep the home fans entertained.  Shortly after Baranyk’s opener Koulikov took a hooking penalty and the Phantoms’ new Latvian netminder, Janis Auzins made a couple of excellent stops, setting the tone for what was a man of the match performance.

The period finished 3-1 to the home side, with further goals from Norton and Bebris for the Phantoms and Dulle for the Stingrays, a Hull penalty shot saved by Auzins, and our first view of Alan Lack’s determination to protect his teammates when he fought #51, Chartrain, following an incident when it appeared that a Hull player had gone through Auzins on a break-away.

In the second period Bebris extended the Phantoms lead before Lauzon finished smartly.  The Stingrays’ bench was reduced further as Turcotte received a match penalty for drawing blood from Koulikov on a high stick call.  There was even time for Milan Baranyk to have a goal washed out as the net was pushed off its moorings.

The final period saw more penalties (3 for the Phantoms, 2 for the Stingrays) in a competitive pre-season opener.  Baranyk went close with 2 one-one-ones before Darius Pliskauskas showed him the way to goal, though the Czech tallied the final home goal, showing smart stick handling before scoring his second of the night.  Ralph completed the scoring for Hull with 2 ½ minutes to go.

It was interesting to see the 3 forward lines in this opener, with things generally clicking.  Line-ups looked something like:
Baranyk – Levers – Ferrara (J)
Koulikov – Pliskauskas – Bebris
Buckman – Weldon – Lack

Each of these lines contributed well in this victory against the opposition from the Elite League.

Special mentions too, to Tom Norton, Scott Robson and Edgars Apelis, who looked assured in defence, with both Norton and Apelis showing some flair in the top end of the ice too.

Janis Auzins was the Phantoms’ MoM, with ex Phantom Matty Davies taking the award for the Stingrays, though the decision could quite easily have gone to #7, Cory Tanaka, who threatened all evening.

Auzins will need to be a stand out netminder this year.  On tonight’s evidence, he may well be.

Phantoms travel to Hull on Wednesday.  The Stingrays have more ice-time planned before then, and it will be interesting to see how both they, and the Phantoms perform on a bigger ice-pad.  The Phantoms support left the rink tonight feeling positive about what lies ahead.  Early days indeed, but momentum is key.

The Peterborough Phantoms can be found online at http://www.gophantoms.co.uk/

You can also follow the club on Twitter at @GoPhantoms 

If you have any comments or observations I’d love to hear from you.  Find me on Twitter at   ‏@phil_smith66  and follow for regular Phantoms updates.

31^st August 2014

So where were we?

Signings have been made, the imports have arrived, the players have enjoyed a group session in the cold at Tallington, and training has started.

For anyone who hasn’t been to the rink since the last home fixture, against Manchester on 22^nd March (it seems such a long time ago), there is now netting to prevent stray pucks finding their way into the stands, the season ticket ‘reserved’ stickers have been fixed to the relevant seats and there have been one or two changes in the EPL.

Behind the scenes people have been working endlessly to prepare for the new season, and it’s almost here.

The first pre-season game is only days away and optimism in the Peterborough Phantoms camp is high.  Following that last home game in March, Coach Koulikov suggested there would be changes in the team that turned out this year, and to all intents and purposes he has his own team this year, rather than one inherited mid-season.

Working on the assumption that the roster is complete, there have been 10 departures from the 20 names on the game sheet for the fixture against Manchester.

The revolving door has seen Damien King, Lewis Hook, Nathan Pollard, Marcel Petran, Rob Ferrara, Declan Balmer, Erik Piatak, Tom Soar, Kamil Jarina and Danny Wood depart the club.  I have written before (check the blog entry on 28^th June 2014) on the challenges ahead in replacing the points accrued by Piatak and Petran.

It will be difficult to replace the points that Marcel scored from defence, and Piatak’s points total was impressive given the finishing position from the team.  Nevertheless, If we are to make progress, we have to believe that the new front line can not only replace Erik’s goals, but also ensure that we don’t end up relying on a defenceman to keep the score board ticking.

Last year the Phantoms were one of the league’s lowest scorers, with only only Slough and Bracknell scoring fewer.  This has to change this year, if higher league placings are going to be chased down.

Only 2 teams conceded fewer goals than the Phantoms last year; symptomatic of a team at the wrong end of the table, the Phantoms scored too few, and conceded too many.  Improvement in the latter half of the season wasn’t enough to propel the team into the play-offs, which has to be a minimum target this year.

Good luck to all of the departing players, and especially to local lads Damien King, Lewis Hook and Nathan Pollard.

Welcome back to the returning players and welcome to Peterborough to the 9 new members of the team:

Forwards Edgars Bebris (Sheffield Steeldogs), Alan Lack (Slough Jets), and Czech import Milan Baranyk (GKS Tychy, Poland)

Defence:  Scott Robson (Hull Stingrays/Blackburn Hawks), Tom Norton (Nottingham Panthers), Cameron McGiffin (Slough Jets), and Latvian import Edgars Apelis (Bilyy Bars Bila Tserkva, Ukraine)

Net Minder:  Latvian import Janis Auzins ( HC Detva, Slovakia), Sam James (Former Phantoms prospect, on a 2 way contract with Peterborough Islanders).

Quite a turnover of players, then, with plenty of new faces.

The key will be how quickly players settle in a new city, and for some in a new country, how rapidly the new lines gel, and how strong we are as a team.

1st training session, listening to Coach

In a high tempo training session on Wednesday there was lots to be excited about. As supporters we don’t know an awful lot about the new imports yet, but Norton, Lack and Bebris are top signings, and Robson and McGiffin were both very highly regarded at their previous clubs.

This is a great time of the year; before a puck is dropped in anger, hope springs eternal.

My view?  The Phantoms will score more and concede fewer than last year, make the play-offs (and then who knows?) and surprise one or two of the teams that people are fancying for honours.

Come on you Phantoms!

The Peterborough Phantoms can be found online at http://www.gophantoms.co.uk/

You can also follow the club on Twitter at @GoPhantoms 

If you have any comments or observations I’d love to hear from you.  Find me on Twitter at   ‏@phil_smith66  and follow for regular Phantoms updates.

28^th August 2014

(Re) Introducing … Tom Norton

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Tom Norton back to the Phantoms after a successful season with the Elite League’s Nottingham Panthers.  Tom played for the Phantoms in 2012-13 after a season with local rivals Milton Keynes, and I’m sure with his experiences and qualities he will prove to be a key part of Slava Koulikov’s new team.

My thanks go out to Tom for taking time out of his busy schedule to complete this Q&A.

Name:  Tom Norton
Age: 24
Position: Defence

 1.  Job outside hockey:
Learning mentor at a primary school, and an ice skating coach.

2.  Favourite Hockey Team & Reason Why:
Pittsburgh Penguins, because my Great Aunt lives there and always used to send me newspaper cuttings of the team.

3.  Can you describe your hockey pedigree – where and when did you start the sport, and where have you stopped off on your hockey journey?
I started playing ice hockey at the age of 6, playing in Nottingham all the way through juniors and I played my first senior game at the age of 16 for the Nottingham Lions.

A year later I had my first professional game for the Nottingham Panthers, and I spent the next two seasons on a two way contract with the Nottingham Lions and the Nottingham Panthers.  I also represented GB under-20s in that time, whilst doing my foundation degree in sport and coaching.

The next season I played full time for the Panthers and then landed a job at Blue Bell Hill Primary School in St Ann’s being a learning mentor. The next two seasons I spent in the EPL at Milton Keynes Lightning and the Peterborough Phantoms both years on a two way contract with Nottingham. Last season I returned to Nottingham with the Panthers and played a more active role with the team. I have signed a 2 year deal in Peterborough and really looking forward to it.

4.  What have been the highlights of your ice hockey career so far?  Which players have you played alongside that have really stood out?
Representing Great Britain under-20s at the World Championships and winning gold was an amazing experience and we had some great players on that team that are now playing in the senior side.

Winning the Challenge Cup last season was amazing; going into the second leg down and everyone writing us off and then winning in a shoot-out at home was an unbelievable experience.

As far as players go from my time in Nottingham there are so many, but players like David Clarke is one, a true professional and always approachable for advice.  Danny Meyers was a great captain and a great leader and always knew the right thing to say. Even Steve Lee who is a year younger than me has been a great teammate, when it comes to working on extra stuff in practise and just being positive, there’s a reason he’s played professional hockey since he was 14 and he has got many great years ahead of him.

From my time in MK, players like Adam Carr and Lewis Christie were so consistent every game and true team players.

In Peterborough I was lucky enough to play in Z’s last season; he was a true gentlemen and a very talented ice hockey player, and a great servant for the Phantoms.  It’s tough to name a few, so sorry if you were not mentioned!

5.  How significant do you feel that the Elite League’s ruling on increasing number of non-British trained players allowed (rising both this year and next) has been, and how might it affect the clubs and the GB team?
Quite simply the Elite League has made its decision and players are going to make theirs for what’s best for them, as regards to ice time and what’s best for their life.

6.  Obviously you have played for the Phantoms before – what attracted you back to Peterborough for the coming season?  Which of the roster do you know particularly well?  Where do you think the team’s strengths will lie?
It was a tough decision to leave Peterborough last summer after signing back, as I had really enjoyed my season there, but I had to take the opportunity and I hope people understood that.

I had enjoyed my season in Peterborough so much I hoped the door was never closed on me coming back, and thankfully it hadn’t and hopefully I can repay the club for that.

Well I know all the boys from the season before last, but I know the Nottingham boys the most, Will, Greg and Marc.

I think we look like a team with a lot of skill upfront which I think will score a lot of goals, but all so a lot of grit and passion which will hopefully work well In the D-Zone for us conceding as few goals as possible.

7.  What are your hockey aspirations?  What will a successful season for Tom Norton and the Phantoms look like this year?
My aspirations for hockey are to keep on improving in a way that benefits any team I play on and just to enjoy myself.  For me a successful year at the Phantoms will be the team doing well and challenging for silverware and making sure we make the playoff weekend.

It has been a couple of seasons since the Phantoms have done that, so I am sure it would be great for us to repay the fans, by being there so they can watch their team, instead of the others.

8.  There look to be some significant signings in the EPL this year.  Who should we be looking out for?
Well, Max Birbraer, Jason Silverthorn and Jon Weaver in Telford are three massive signings and Jeff Legue in Sheffield and Danny Meyers in Guildford  are huge – it’s showing the calibre of players the EPL is attracting now and that’s only a good thing for the fans and the league.

I also think Slava has pull off a great signing with Edgars Bebris, I think he is a real strong player and always rated him when he played in Sheffield.

9.  Have you got a message for the Phantoms’ fans as we look towards the new season?
I am looking forward to putting on a Phantoms shirt again, and I hope you are all looking forward to the new season, stay loud and stay proud.

And finally – Off the bench …

Which Phantom/which teammate:

is the best/worst trainer?
James Ferrara always trains hard and leads by example, I can never remember there being a bad trainer everyone works hard.

is the most skilful?
Darius Pilskauskas, from playing against him for 2 seasons, I have been on the other end of some of his skills, I am really pleased he is on our team this year.

is the toughest?
He would be so upset if I didn’t say him and I can’t be doing with him always going on about it in the car this season, so Will Weldon 😉

is the funniest?
Greg Pick, he is what we call a beauty

has the worst dress sense?
Greg Pick had a pair of very light, tight jeans that used to raise my eyebrows.

is the most annoying on an away trip?
Well I will be in the car with all the Nottingham boys and from past experience nobody was annoying!

Once again, thanks to Tom Norton; with Tom knowing Phantoms’ players from his last stint with the club, and some of the Nottingham based players too, here’s hoping that he’ll settle quickly and help tighten that defence up!

The Peterborough Phantoms can be found online at http://www.gophantoms.co.uk/

You can follow Tom Norton on Twitter at @Nortzy2 and the Peterborough Phantoms at @GoPhantoms 

If you have any comments or observations I’d love to hear from you.  Find me on Twitter at   ‏@phil_smith66  and follow for regular Phantoms updates.

15^th August 2014