Game Night Report: Bracknell Bees

Saturday 26^th September 2015:  Peterborough Phantoms 3 Bracknell Bees 0

MoM: Jason Buckman

If there were one or two disappointed Phantoms’ fans leaving the Peterborough Arena last Sunday after the overtime loss to Milton Keynes, normal service was resumed after this 3-0 victory against the Bracknell Bees.

The fixture was set up nicely; the Bees came into the game after a mixed weekend, losing to the Swindon Wildcats, who the Phantoms had beaten in the season’s opener, and trouncing the league’s new boys, Hull, by a 10-3 scoreline.  In contrast, the Phantoms came into the game after claiming a single point last weekend and had been slow out of the blocks in both the game in Guildford and at home against Milton Keynes.

There were one or two other points of note going into the game, of course.  In the Bees’ victory against Hull player/Head Coach Lukas Smital passed Garry Clarke’s all-time EPIHL’s points record.  Congratulations to Smital on such a prestigious achievement.

Amongst the familiar Bracknell faces such as Scott Spearing, Matt Foord, James Galazzi, Matty Towalski, hot prospect Ivan Antonov, and netminder Alex Mettam, the Bees have one or two new faces on board, notably Frankie Bakrlik, formerly of Manchester, Milan Kostourek, a 38 goal and 69 point forward, signed from Milton Keynes, the experienced David Savage from Guildford, and Callum Fowler, formerly of this parish.

Regular readers of this column will know that I have been a fan of Bakrlik, though he would not be able to make his presence count in this tie as the Phantoms recorded their first shut-out of the season.

Ultimately, the game was probably more comfortable for the Phantoms than they might have anticipated.  With the Bees four games so far seen a massive 41 goals there was every suggestion the early seasons’ point leaders, Bakrlik and Kostourek would provide a real threat. The Phantoms had a clean sweep against the Bees last year, and in truth that streak wasn’t threatened on Saturday.

The Phantoms dominated the first period, and though shots on goal don’t always tell the full story, they did on this occasion, with 12 shots on Mettam compared to the 6 shots on Auzins illustrating the balance of play.

Early shots from Baranyk, Levers and Pliskauskas peppered the Bees goal, whilst Kostourek and Smital had chances at the other end.

Tetlow picked up an early penalty for an interference call on Levers after 39 seconds, and in turn, McGiffin and Robson picked up penalties dining the first period for tripping and interference, on 7 31 and 10 54 respectively.

The Phantoms PP has built up pressure in the first few weeks of the season, but has probably not been as clinical in terms of goals as the Coach would like, but the penalty kill has done a terrific job.  With 28 seconds of McGiffin’s penalty still remaining, and with the Bees struggling to take advantage of their numerical superiority, a turnover in the Phantoms zone saw a stretch pass to Darius Pliskauskas who was hooked by Smital as he bore down on goal, and the resulting penalty shot was despatched high over Mettam’s blocker for a 1-0 lead.

Forty seconds later, and with the Bees struggling to come to terms with the pressure exerted upon the, Jason Buckman extended the home side’s lead, sweeping in from the top of the left hand face-off circle, assisted by Padelek.

The second period was a cagier affair than the first, and on balance, more even, as the Bees tried to kick start their recovery.  The Phantoms shaded the shots on goal once more, and showed no signs of simply trying to protect their lead.  Tetlow picked up his second penalty of the evening on 26 18, and for the Phantoms Pick and Levers both sat for interference.  Chances were traded at both ends, with Antonov impressing, and Bakrlik, who broke a stick on a boomer from the blue line threatening more than he had done earlier.

For the Phantoms, Bebris was becoming increasingly influential, and Lloyd Gibson broke into the Bees zone during Levers’ penalty, rounded Mettam and looked to finish, but was thwarted by the save of the evening.

Despite opportunities in front of goal for both teams, neither side would add to the scoring in a period characterised by turnovers and gritty board play.

Whatever Koulikov said to the Phantoms during the second period break clearly paid dividends.  After a mere 1 01 of the final period pressure on the Bees goal a crowd scene around Mettam’s goal saw Levers hit home to give the Phantoms a 3-0 lead.

On 46 36 Galazzi and Pick had a coming together, with both protagonists removing helmets and gloves before the Bracknell man landed a single right-hander on Pick who went down as a result.

Buoyed by Galazzi’s efforts the Bees gained momentum, but were unable to find a way through as the clock ticked down.

The Phantoms would benefit from two further powerplays in the last seven minutes, but had started to shut up shop by the time that Turner took his tripping call on 53 49, and though Lukas Smital had a great 1-on-1 opportunity late on that was snuffed out by a lunging Janis Auzins, the Bees would play short-handed for the majority of the last two minutes as Bakrlik took yet another Bees penalty, and there would be no further scoring.

MoM:  Jason Buckman (Phantoms) & Tetlow (Bracknell)

Strange to see anyone other than Auzins get the beers after a shutout, but credit to Buckman who caps an impressive start to the season with a goal.

The Phantoms took their chances, but could, and probably should’ve won by a larger margin.  The Bees gained momentum after the Galazzi/Pick fight, but were well marshalled by the Phantoms’ back-line and in taking penalties at key times failed to build up a head of steam.

The Phantoms now move on to Telford for a match-up in Shropshire against a team that has stuttered at the start of the season, but which is packed full of quality, and who will be right at the top of the table at the end of the season.  It should be a cracker!

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.

 

Game Night Report: Milton Keynes Lightning

Sunday 20^th September:  Peterborough Phantoms 3 Milton Keynes Lightning 4 (OT)

Here’s a question for you – on reflection, was this overtime loss a point gained or a point lost?

With both teams looking to kick start their weekend after Saturday evening defeats – the Phantoms in Guildford and the Lightning at home to the Steeldogs, there was plenty to play for, yet for a second night running the Phantoms fell behind and had to battle back.  Whilst they couldn’t salvage anything from the game in Surrey on Saturday, at least a point was bagged in an exciting finish that might well have seen the home team stage a dramatic comeback win.

As early as the warm up the game looked as though there might be a little more needle than usual as there was a coming together of players before the players left the ice, with Milan Baranyk seeming to have a problem, and though tempers frayed during the course of the evening things didn’t boil over as they might have done.

Pete Russell had clearly brought his team to do a job, and in the first period the visitors played physical hockey and pressured the Phantoms backline.  The Lightning shaded the shots on goal in the first period, though the Phantoms hardly helped themselves, struggling to get out of the blocks quickly enough and turning the puck over too frequently.

With 6 53 on the clock the Lightning took the lead; a stretch pass from Chamberlain found Carr on the Phantoms’ blue line.  Carr beat the last defender, faced down Auzins and despite the Latvian stopper preventing the initial shot from going in to the goal, the MK captain managed to hit the puck mid-air into the net to open the scoring.

The sides traded penalties (Pick for holding and Tahtinen for hooking) before the first buzzer, but neither side could trouble the scorers before Carr stuck early in the second.  The last thing that Coach Koulikov would’ve wanted would have been to concede early in the second period, but with only 16 seconds of the middle frame gone another breakaway saw Carr give the Lightning a two goal lead and put the Phantoms on the back foot.

For the first eight or nine minutes of the second period things remained fairly even, and despite chances falling to the Padelek and Scott the Phantoms couldn’t find a way through the MK’s inexperienced netminder, Jordan Marr.  On 9 37 referee Hogarth blew the whistle quickly after Marr caught the puck, only for it to fall from his glove into the net, and as Phantoms’ pressure built, Darius Pliskauskas hit the outside of Marr’s left post with a rocket from the blue line.

The Phantoms’ PP unit were called upon four times in the second period, with increasing pressure building on the MK goal.  As MK’s Emersic sat for holding on 33 28 Pliskauskas would give hope to the Phantoms’ fans, firing a shot from the high slot through traffic and over Marr’s glove to give us a 1-2 scoreline after 40 minutes.

The Phantoms had built up a head of steam at the end of the second period, having 26 shots on Marr compared to the 17 shots on Auzins, yet despite momentum swinging their way they only had one goal to show for their efforts and still trailed by a single goal.

The final stanza started positively for the Phantoms, who continued in the same vein as they had finished the second period, yet it would be MK who would strike next as Lewis Hook shot from the left hand face-off circle to restore the Lightning’s two goal margin, and to give the impetus back to Pete Russell’s team.

Credit then, to the Phantoms, who fought back manfully in the latter stages.  As the Phantoms pushed for a goal Leigh Jamieson and Lewis Christie received penalties for slashing and hooking on 49 22 and 50 28, which gave the Phantoms 50 seconds of 5-on-3.

Just as the first penalty expired Marc Levers gave the Phantoms a lifeline; great news that a goal had been scored, though somewhat unfortunate that the puck didn’t find the net a few seconds earlier, as the first penalty had expired, returning us to 5-on-5 hockey with 8 36 remaining.

In an exciting climax to the game Lewis Hook had a shot smartly saved by Auzins and Rob Ferrara sent Craig Scott through on goal with a fine pass that found the Canadian on the blue line and through 1-on-1 against Marr, but to no avail.

As MK exerted pressure on the Phantoms goal Auzins cleared the puck with his stick all the way to Weldon who was sitting on the MK blue line.  Weldon fired at Marr who picked up the rebound, and from the ensuing face-off Milan Baranyk fired the puck low into Marr’s goal to tie the game at 3-3 with 4 17 remaining.

The third period had seen 17 shots on Marr and 8 on Auzins, and the Phantoms won the final period 2-1, sending us in to five minutes of sudden death overtime.

Of course, overtime rules have changed for the 2015-16 season.  Teams go 3-on-3, and with Auzins in goal we see a Phantoms’ side without any outfield import skaters.

As the noise level in the rink rose the Phantoms pushed for the OT winner, but as MK cleared their zone Tom Norton was felled and the Lightning forwards closed down on Auzins’ goal.  Replays would suggest a possibility of off-side as the MK broke through the blue line, and though Auzins managed to keep Chamberlain out initially, the GB U-20 international was able to pass to Tahtinen who would score the game winning goal.

MoM:  Pliskauskas (Phantoms), strong in the second, & Griffin (MK)

Credit to the Phantoms for coming back from a two goal deficit, but giving teams a two goal lead is no way to win these games.

And that question at the start of this piece?

I felt an equaliser at Guildford, however desirable it might have been, and however much Phantoms would have taken it, would’ve flattered the team, and tonight I felt momentum had swung very much in the Phantoms’ favour.  Disappointing to have to fight back from two down again, but at the death the Phantoms looked more likely, so a point lost in my book, despite never taking a lead.

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.

Game Night Report: Guildford Flames

Saturday 19^th September 2015:  Guildford Flames 3 Peterborough Phantoms 2

Sporting contests often come down to fine margins.  With Guildford leading 3-2 and the clock showing 4 32 remaining in the game, James Ferrara fired a rocket from the blue line which crashed into Greg Rockman’s post, only for the puck to fly back into play rather than settling in the net, and seconds later the former Phantom saved again from the Peterborough captain to preserve the home side’ lead

With Phantom’s pressure building Coach Koulikov pulled Janis Auzins with 97 seconds to go, and the away side so nearly snatched an equaliser that had seemed unlikely twenty minutes before, as Craig Scott almost benefitted from the Phantoms’ numerical advantage.

Nevertheless, it would be Guildford who had the puck in the net one last time, and though that tally would be washed out with only 16 seconds to go, the Flames would protect their lead and take the points.

The Phantoms were on the back foot with as little as 26 seconds of the first period gone.  Piatak won a face-off in the Phantoms defensive zone and Kristoffersson smashed a one timer past Auzins to give the Surrey side an early lead which they added to barely three minutes later.  The Flames were playing high tempo hockey, with crisp passing and aggressive movement which saw Dixon feed Kristoffersson for his second of the evening.

Guildford netminder Rockman had little to do in the opening phase of the game, though the second Flames’ goal sparked greater pressure from the Phantoms, Pliskauskas going close before Craig Scott finished from what was only the visitor’ second shot of the game on 4 51 to make the score 2-1.

Midway through the opening frame the Flames conceded a couple of penalties as Lundin and Kristoffersson sat for elbows and charging respectively, but the Phantoms would be unable to find a way through, and through  a combination of good fortune, poor finishing, and stout defence the score would remain 2-1 at the first intermission.

Following his year in Peterborough, Phantoms’ fans know how dangerous Erik Piatak can be, and as Lloyd Gibson sat a boarding penalty it would be the Slovakian forward who would extend the Flames’ lead from the slot on 23 16.  The Phantoms faced considerable pressure for significant parts of the middle period, and Scott Robson in particular was on hand to clear his lines.  Following Piatak’s powerplay strike the Phantoms’ penalty kill unit were called upon again, as first Eddie Bebris and then Tom Norton would take slashing penalties in quick succession.

Guildford shaded the shots on goal but in truth could’ve extended their lead, and whilst the Phantoms showed quality in flashes they were forced back by a Flames side who play well on their big ice pad, cheered on by over 1700 fans.

The final period saw the Phantoms start strongly as both Pliskauskas and Levers brought saves out of Rockman, and Peterborough hopes were ignited as Scott reduced the arrears with 51 31 gone.  Two minutes later, with little over six minutes to go Will Weldon calmly cleared the crease with Auzins beaten and the Flames odds on to finish the game, and though James Ferrara and Craig Scott came close to sending the game into overtime, the Phantoms would taste defeat for the first time in eight outings.

Guildford are big, fast and play physically, and the Phantoms knew this would be a tough challenge.  Even so, there will be a sense of disappointment at giving the Flames a quick lead which the Phantoms ultimately couldn’t claw back.

On another night the puck would’ve beaten Rockman to tie the game up at the death, but tonight the Phantoms could only think of what might have been.

MoM:  Tom Norton (Phantoms) & Marcus Kristoffersson (Guildford)

Tom Norton took the honours for his part in a defensive rearguard, though Ales Padelek stood out for the Phantoms in the first period, Scott Robson in the second, and Craig Scott is rapidly becoming the go to guy.

For the Flames Piatak was effective in the face-off circle, and Kristoffersson threatened throughout.  Matt Towe was powerful in front of goal and linked play well, and Ben Campbell contributed to a strong offensive performance.

It’s been quite a run for the lucky Greg Pick jersey since the MK Lightning game the week before the quarter final tie in Swindon, with seven league and play-off games since a defeat.  Time for a change.

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.

Game Night Report: Basingstoke Bison

Sunday 13^th September 2015:  Peterborough Phantoms 5 Basingstoke Bison 3

MoM: Ales Padelek

Fans look for some key markers at the start of a season – the first home win, first away win, first four-point weekend (you get the idea – I’ll also look for the first OT win and first shootout victory too), and of course to cap off a great start to the new season the Phantoms beat the Basingstoke Bison in Peterborough to secure a first weekend maximum.

Basingstoke are always in the mix at the end of the season and having failed to beat them on home ice last year it is pleasing to see them get out of the traps early.

At the start of the game the Phantoms pressed the Bison back into their defensive zone, and after Ciaran Long took an early slashing penalty Craig Scott came up with a goal of real beauty, receiving a pass from Ales Padelek and showing real skill as he dragged Hladlovsky out of position to give the Phantoms a third minute powerplay lead.

Joe Greener was foiled by Auzins as the Bison pressed themselves, though it would be the Phantoms to score the second goal of the evening.  Eddie Bebris showed great strength in fending off the Basingstoke defence before feeding Padelek who fired over Hladlovsky’s shoulder on 5 29.

The remainder of the first period would see no more goals, but plenty of penalty minutes picked up, as Pliskauskas, Bebris, Norton and Levers all sat in the box for the Phantoms, whilst Balmer (twice) and Vantroba suffered the same for the visitors.  As had been the case in Swindon on Saturday, the Phantoms’ PK unit did great work to keep the Bison out, though any powerplay minutes that the Phantoms would have themselves would come to no avail.

The second period saw the Phantoms see out the remaining 1 29 of Levers’ penalty, though Balmer did pull a goal back for Basingstoke on 22 50 after concerted pressure on a delayed penalty, as Greg Pick had picked called for tripping the former Phantom.

Three and a half minutes later, with 6 11 of the period gone Tomas Karpov broke away with speed and scored a cracker, 1-on-1 with Auzins.

At 2-2, and with a two goal lead squandered the game could have gone one of two ways for the Phantoms, and momentum was certainly with Bison.  The temperature was rising as the game became more physical, and with one or two calls not going the Phantoms’ way the crowd were becoming more vocal.

With the Bison feeling the game was theirs for the taking it was Eddie Bebris who came to the Phantoms’ rescue, skating hard round the net from left to right and into the right hand face-off circle, unleashing a shot that found the net through traffic, to restore the Phantoms’ lead with virtually half of teh game gone.

This time the Phantoms’ advantage would last little more than two and a half minutes as Rand scored on another break away to tie things up once again, 3-3.

Of course, we have seen some stout work from the Phantoms in the past year, and on Sunday we saw that quality once again.  James Ferrara benefitted from Craig Scott winning an offensive zone face-off and cross goal pass to sweep in a fourth Peterborough goal 33 02, and Darius Pliskauskas scored number five on 35 59 to restore the Phantoms’ end of period two goal margin.

The third period saw lots of pressure from Basingstoke, but unlike the second period where they had 19 shots on goal, the final frame saw only 9 shots on Auzins.  There was time for a Ryan Watt penalty for interference, a great hip check by Scott Robson on Pritchley and a short fight between Greg Pick and Joe Rand, maybe marginally shaded by the big Canadian, and despite pulling Hladlovsky, neither side could trouble the scorers another time.

In many ways the game on Sunday mirrored that in Swindon the night before; a quick lead clawed back by the opposition, only for the Phantoms to score some impressive goals and defend manfully in the final period.  The Bison bring a big, physical game, with slick passing and lots of movement, but after the Phantoms had secured their two goal lead at the end of the second period they were rarely threatened and deservedly took the points.

The Phantoms penalty kill was effective, and though they struggled to cope with the intensity of the Basingstoke forecheck, especially at the start of the second period, the Phantoms created good chances and made the best of them (three goals from six second period shots, for example).

MoM:  Padelek (Phantoms) & Karpov (Basingstoke)

The Phantoms’ forwards had another good game, and just like in Swindon, the goals were spread through the team.  A special mention in dispatches, however, to Pick and Jason Buckman, who have had an effective weekend, along with Norton, McGiffin, and Robson.

For Basingstoke Karpov stood out yet again, as did Ciaran Long.  As for Hladlovsky?  Shaky at the start of the game and not as impressive as Auzins on this showing, but he’ll be settling into a new club and a new league so it’s too early to make too many sweeping judgements.

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.

 

 

Game Night Report: Swindon Wildcats

Saturday 12^th September 2015:  Swindon Wildcats 3 Peterborough Phantoms 6

With the pre-season contests over the Peterborough Phantoms travelled to Wiltshire for their first league game of the season and returned home with two points following a well-earned victory at the Link Centre.

The last time the Phantoms played in Swindon was the play-off quarter final, and as in that game, the visitors struck early.  Milan Baranyk bundled the puck past Stevie Lyle after a mere 17 seconds to give the Phantoms a dream start, and though there was some delay in awarding the goal following the net being moved from its moorings, referee Matthews eventually allowed the goal to stand.

The Wildcats fought for a quick reply and Auzins was called upon to make saves before the game settled into a more even contest.  Nevertheless, Swindon wouldn’t be denied their leveller for too long.  Pressure on the Phantoms’ net built up and on 7 24 the puck was fed out to Aaron Nell, who lashed it into the net from distance, with Auzins stranded.

If the Phantoms were disappointed about the home team’s equaliser, they will have been frustrated some 90 seconds later, when the ‘Cats took the lead on 8 50 with a goal that looked as if it had come from a marginal offside call, Man of the Match Jan Kostal converting from the impressive Corey McEwen (a familiar name to Peterborough hockey fans, Corey being a former Phantoms junior and son of Doug McEwen) and former Basingstoke Bison Matt Selby.

The Wildcats lead would last less than 90 seconds as James Ferrara restored parity with a tracer from the blue line on 10 16, and on 12 30 Tom Norton gave the Phantoms a 3-2 lead with an almost identical shot as the visitors took advantage of a Tomasz Malasinski hooking penalty.

Though Swindon pushed to get on terms, the Phantoms took a one goal lead into the break having shaded the first twenty minutes.

As to be expected, the Wildcats came out fighting at the start of the second period, with Janis Auzins once again keeping the Swindon forwards at bay.  On 25 15 Darius Pliskauskas took a hooking penalty that saw the Phantoms’ penalty kill unit work wonders, with Eddie Bebris in particular holding up play until he was tripped by Liddiard, giving us 25 seconds of 4-on-4 hockey and 1 35 of Phantoms powerplay.

On 29 11 Marc Levers scored another one of his clutch goals, extending the Phantoms’ lead from the slot after a period of Phantoms pressure, assisted by Phantoms’ Man of the Match, Eddie Bebris.

With nine minutes to go Stevie Lyle foiled Milan Baranyk on a 1-on-1 breakaway, but on 12 04 Ales Padelek scored a picture book  goal, fading to sweep round the right hand side of Lyle’s net, but scoring from the tightest of angles.

At 5-2, and with just under eight minutes of the second period remaining, Stevie Lyle was replaced by Jordan Hedly in the Wildcats’ goal.

The final period saw the Phantoms PK unit keep the Wildcats out on two further occasions as Norton and Padelek sat for slashing and interference respectively.

Lloyd Gibson scored a sixth for the Phantoms on 53 38, and though Swindon pulled a goal back through Malasinski to make the score 3-6, receiving a pass from McEwan before slotting home, the Phantoms saw out the victory in the third perhaps more comfortably than they might have expected.

MoM:  Kostal (Swindon) & Bebris (Phantoms)

It was terrific to see the goals spread throughout the Phantoms’ team, with six different goal-scorers; Bebris was a powerhouse throughout the game and as we’ve come to expect, Auzins did the business in goal.  The Phantoms scored a PP goal (1 from 2) and the PK was effective too.  An encouraging start to the season!

For Swindon, Kostal, Malasinski and McEwen all impressed.

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.

Welcome back … James Ferrara

At the start of this third season for ‘beyond the blue line’ it give me great pleasure to present a pre-season Q&A with the Phantoms’ hometown captain, James Ferrara.

At the beginning of these Q&A pieces I’ve often given a little bit of background to the player, but as this is James’ third Q&A for this blog, I’ll give you the links to check out the previous two (2013-14 here http://wp.me/p3I8ZK-2i and 2014-15 here http://wp.me/p3I8ZK-7F) and just suggest that there could be no player who is more proud to lead the team, and no player more proud to lift the Play-Off trophy than the Phantoms’ captain.

Once again, thanks to James for taking part …

Before we look forward to the new season, I think it would be appropriate to reflect on the successes of last season and the play-off victory against Manchester …

 1. What do you believe were the Phantoms’ strengths last season?
I think our togetherness, and team spirit were key. We build the foundations at training camp for us to get to know each other, and developed more and more as a team as the season progressed.  We all bought in to the same ethos and showed the desire to play for each other and the shirt rather than as individuals, and I think that showed come the play-offs.

 2. At what point in the season did you think that the team could do something special?
We all set winning as our goal at the start of the season, but I think the way we battled in every game throughout the season showed us we could compete with every team in the league. Around February time when we set our sights on the play-offs we kicked the intensity up, and started planning for the play-offs. You could sense a little nervous excitement for the play-offs to begin then.  It was then that I knew we were in it to win it.

3. And thinking about the Coventry weekend – at what point did you really believe the Phantoms could take the silverware?
From the start, but hockey, like any sport, can throw the unexpected at you.  We had planned well for the Telford game and were ready, and were confident in ourselves to prove to everyone what we could do.

Once we won that game I knew as long as we rested and re-fuelled enough for Sunday, and we weren’t over-confident, we would win.

4. Now the dust has settled on the 2014-15 season, how do you reflect on that play-off win, and what did it mean to you as a home grown Phantoms’ captain?
It meant everything for me.

It was the first trophy I had won in a Phantoms uniform, and to lift the trophy with the guys we had/have on the team meant a lot.

It was also great for me to have all my family in the stands watching too. It was nice for me to have enjoyed success for my hometown club, something I have seen others achieve.

And now looking forward to the new season …

5. The Phantoms’ roster has stayed fairly stable over the summer, but the team benefits from the experience of being together through a successful season.  What do you think we should expect from the Phantoms this year?
A lot of the same as last year, but obviously we want to achieve even more than we did.  It is of great benefit that we have kept the majority of the roster together, something we have always managed to do, so we will hopefully carry on from where we left off and hit the ground running.

Added confidence and belief in what we can achieve will be a huge positive.  I think the cup competition is something we should target this year as we haven’t always been very competitive in the cup for quite a few years.

6. Several teams seem to have added significantly to their locker-rooms this summer – which teams do you think we need to look out for, and which signings do you think are the ‘ones to watch’ this year?
I believe the majority of teams have improved their rosters this season, but it is difficult to predict how successful teams or individual signings will be until we get started.  A lot rests on the teams’ structures, tactics and hunger, particularly if players are dropping down from higher leagues.  A lot of younger players have joined the league this year who will be out to prove themselves, which should give games that extra edge of competitiveness.

7. What will a successful season for the Phantoms look like this year?
Obviously we want to win and be successful in every competition we face.  I think an improvement in our league position, and to be competitive in both cup and play-off competitions will again show everyone how good our team is.  It will be nice to add more silverware to our great club’s history.

8. Finally – have you got a message for the Phantoms’ fans on the eve of the season?
We are all extremely excited to get started again, and are working our hardest to continue our successes, so continue to show your very faithful support and we will have another season to remember.

Thanks again to James for taking part; here’s hoping that he can lead the Phantoms to another successful season!

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.

 

Game Night Report: Milton Keynes Lightning

Sunday 6^th September 2015:  Peterborough Phantoms 5 (9) MK Lightning 3 (7)

Craig Scott & Tom Norton

Pre-season games are funny old things if you think about it.

Everyone knows that the real stuff is just around the corner, and no matter how much you tell yourself that it’s all about match fitness and lines and preparation, and it doesn’t really matter of you lose, it is still nice to come out of a weekend having won; though for long stretches of this game a Phantoms’ victory was probably not the most likely outcome.

The first period started with chances being exchanged at either end, as Skinns foiled a James Ferrara 1-on-1 opportunity and Auzins keeping the puck out of the Phantoms’ goal.  MK’s David Clements scored the first of his brace on 1 48, striking a shot that travelled through a crowd scene past Auzins, and gave the visitors a two goal margin barely a minute later, firing a shot glove side that in truth Auzins would be disappointed to concede through.

The Phantoms picked up their game somewhat after a Leigh Jamieson penalty for hooking, where both Darius Pliskauskas and Ales Padelek went close, but the score would remain unchanged until the second period as the Lightning shaded the physical battle.

The Phantoms started the second period on the back foot, with MK camped in their offensive zone for most of the first two minutes, yet after 5 39 of the period James Ferrara relieved the pressure with a shot that challenged MK’s Man of the Match Skinns, and seconds later, on 25 50, a Tom Norton shot deceived the MK netminder and found a way to the goal.

Just when the Phantoms appeared to have found a way back into the contest they conceded a third goal as Luomala restored the Lightning’s two goal advantage as the Phantoms struggled to clear their lines, and though the early stages of the middle twenty minutes belonged to the away side, the Phantoms built pressure themselves, and pulled another goal back on 33 49 through man of the moment Craig Scott as another MK penalty expired to make the score 2-3, and with only 14 seconds of the period remaining Scott notched his second of the evening after great work by James Ferrara to tie things up at 3-3 after 40 minutes.

Whatever Koulikov said in the second intermission seemed to pay dividends.  Whilst the Phantoms has shown flashes in the first two periods, but had allowed the Lightning to get ahead, the final period saw the home team play with greater intensity, more physically, and with greater speed and accuracy all over the ice.  James Ferrara sat for two minutes on a tripping call and Marc Levers was boarded by Clements, yet neither side could force a break through.

After a lengthy delay to fix an on-ice issue with the net moorings with four minutes to go Milan Baranyk gave the Phantoms their first lead of the evening with 3 42 remaining, rattling one past Skinns on his blocker side from the right hand face-off circle and with 58 seconds remaining Craig Scott capped a fine performance by scoring his hat-trick goal, controlling a pass from Tom Norton deftly before scoring past Skinns to make the final score 5-3, and 9-7 on aggregate.

MoM:  Scott (Phantoms) & Skinns (MK)

More good stuff from Scott, Gibson, Pliskauskas, Levers and Auzins, and it is encouraging to see young Susters stand up to the challenge too.  The Phantoms benefit from the return of Tom Norton, and once again, James Ferrara chipped in with his customary points.

As for MK – I liked the look of Clements and Luomala once again, and I always enjoy seeing Lewis Hook, who remains an exceptional talent.

The Phantoms retain the Ashes, and now need to look towards two really tough sides in Swindon and Basingstoke.  Swindon away is always a tough one, and I’d expect a real challenge, and Basingstoke were the one team that the Phantoms couldn’t get the better of last year.

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.

Game Night Report: Milton Keynes Lightning

Saturday 5^th September:  MK Lightning 4 Peterborough Phantoms 4

The Ashes derby clash between these two local rivals has become something of a permanent pre-season feature, and though this pair games, like so many in pre-season are for a trophy, the coaches, players and supporters will have their eye on the real thing when the league games start next weekend.

Saturday evening saw the Phantoms dress in their new white home jersey (remember, new rules, home jerseys to be worn for away games for the first half of the season), and we got to see top D man Tom Norton dress for the first time this year.

The supporters of both sides were treated to an excellent game of hockey; both teams played with a physical edge, and both created and scored some excellent goals.

Though a draw was quite possibly the result both teams deserved, and a result which sets the Phantoms’ home leg up nicely (Planet Ice, Peterborough, 5:30pm), the Phantoms will be disappointed that they didn’t come away with the win after leading four times, and MK may well feel that they finished the stronger and might’ve grabbed the lead themselves at the death.

In the first period the home side came out of the traps quickly, putting the Phantoms under pressure and drawing smart saves from Jarolin, Jamieson and Cook.

Midway through the period, on 7 46 and 8 32 the Lightning picked up two penalties, the first on McPherson for interference on Levers, and the second on the impressive Clements, for cross-checking.  On this occasion the Phantoms couldn’t make their 5-on-3 numerical advantage count, though Marr needed to save smartly from Padelek.

The sides exchanged penalties for un-sporting conduct (Baranyk for the Phantoms and Chamberlain for MK) before Darius Pliskauskas gave the Phantoms the lead through a powerplay goal on 15 34, ripping one to Marr’s glove side, assisted by Craig Scott (the first of three points in another Man of the Match performance) and James Ferrara.

As soon as the second period started the Lightning picked up a bench minor for delay of game, but that penalty was killed and in the first eight minutes of the period there was considerable pressure on Auzins’ goal.  An Eddie Bebris penalty for boarding Blaz Emersic was killed, but after a period of desperate defence Jarolin equalised on 28 06 following good work by Carr and ex-Phantom, Lewis Hook.

This would be the first of three goals in almost as many minutes; Craig Scott opened his Phantoms’ account, tipping a vicious blue liner from Pliskauskas to restore the Phantoms’ lead, but Lewis Hook fired a ripper past Auzins to level the scores once again.

With the clock ticking down and with just under three minutes of the second period left Lloyd Gibson scored a picture book goal for his first in a Phantoms jersey, crashing the net to meet a Scott pass from the right wing after Milan Baranyk has entered the offensive zone.

In a period where the Phantoms were outshot 5 to 16 the away team had managed to retain their slender one goal margin.

Period three saw a cagier start than had the previous two period, with pressure on both Marr and Auzins.  Nevertheless, it would be the home side to strike first in the final twenty, through Luomala.

The Phantoms got the go-ahead goal for the fourth time as Bebris slotted past Marr on the edge of the crease on 52 24, after Milan Baranyk had teased the MK defence behind the goal, and following a period of 4-on-4 hockey as Bebris sat for tripping and Cook for diving, Leigh Jamieson tied things up once more, waltzing through the Phantoms’ defence before rifling past Auzins with a couple of minutes left.

At the death Janis Auzins made excellent saves from Lewis Hook which could’ve given the home side a first leg lead, but the Phantoms saw the game out at 4-4, and all to play for in Peterborough.

MoM:  Hook (MK), Scott (Phantoms)

Nice stuff from Craig Scott once again, who is looking like he is settling well, and also from James Ferrara and Darius Pliskauskas who still looks a class act.  Some of the young Phantoms have impressed in pre-season so far too – the Brad Moore-Martins Susters-Connor Stokes line had plenty of ice time and did well too.

For MK, Lewis Hook was a threat, and I was impressed with Chamberlain, Jarolin and Luomala.

Onto the second leg!

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.

 

Introducing … Craig Scott

One of the most interesting signings for Phantoms’ supporters this summer has been the addition to the forward line of Craig Scott, a Canadian born British trained player who has joined up from the Stonewall Flyers in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

Some readers may be familiar with Craig’s father Paddy, a GB international who played for Basingstoke and Cardiff and who lined up alongside Slava Koulikov for the Milton Keynes Kings in 1998-99.

Craig has impressed in his first pre-season games, and was named ‘Man of the Match’ for his debut performance against the Solway Sharks.

I’d like to thank Craig for taking the time in his busy schedule to answer a few questions for ‘beyond the blue line’ and of course, wish him all the best in Peterborough this year.

Name: Craig Scott
Age:  24
Position:  Forward
Number: 88

Job outside hockey?  Recent University graduate from University of Manitoba in Physical Education; groundskeeping/landscaping in the summers.

Favourite NHL Team & Reason Why? Montreal Canadiens! It was my dad’s favourite team so I was pretty much born to be a Habs fan!

Favourite hockey player and sporting hero? Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews

Favourite film? I have three – The Fighter, Gladiator & The Departed

Favourite movie star? Easy!  Mark Wahlburg

Favourite singer/band? AC/DC, U2 & Bruce Springsteen

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 skating at 3 years old and playing at 4 in Milton Keynes.  My father, Paddy played there for a number of years so I played in the youth program there up until the age of 8.

After my dad retired we moved back to Canada and I played my remaining years in Selkirk and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

I played in the MJHL for Selkirk Steelers and Winnipeg Saints.  After that I spent two seasons with the University of Manitoba Bisons while pursuing a Bachelor of Physical Education degree.  I played last season with a team called the Stonewall Flyers in the SEMHL. Last year was the final year of my degree and I officially graduated this past June.

What have been the highlights of your ice hockey career so far? 
There have been many highlights over my career, I have played in many tournaments in many different places. We had a trip to Europe with the Bisons that was good.

I’d have to say skating on the outdoor rinks back home, even as a kid growing up, have always brought about the best memories I have with the game.

How would you describe your game to Phantoms’ fans who’ll know very little about you up to this point?
I play a very steady game.  I am good at both ends of the ice. I see the ice well, love making plays, scoring goals, and I am not afraid to get physical.  I have good speed, a good shot, and I am willing to do whatever to win and help the team.

How did the deal with the Phantoms come about?
I was in talks with Slava last season, but finished my degree and in April he got in contact with me again, so I was very fortunate.

What have been your first impressions of the Peterborough Phantoms?
They are a close knit team and they are all extremely hard working. It’s a pleasure being a part of such a great group.

You’ve been involved in the Phantoms’ training camp at RAF Wittering this week – what was that like?
It was intense to say the least! Probably the most unique training camp I’ve ever been through but I enjoyed it and I think the boys did as well.

How familiar are you with the game in the UK, and the EPL in particular, and what are your expectations of the game here?
I’m not familiar with the hockey here but I expect hard, fast, exciting hockey with lots of physicality and I’m looking forward to it.

What would a successful season for Craig Scott and the Peterborough Phantoms look like?
A successful season for me would obviously finish atop the table contend for more hardware. We have the team to really have a successful season. We have a great coach leading us, we have speed, we have size and we have skill. And I’m going to help out anyway I can to ensure this season is a great season!

And finally … do you have a message for the supporters on the eve of the season?
Just looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere in the rink this season and meeting all the fans! Here we go!

Once again, thanks to Craig, and here’s hoping he settles in Peterborough quickly!

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.