Autumn Cup – Peterborough Phantoms 2 Hull Pirates 1 (PSO)
MoM Jordan Marr, and penalty scorer Corey McEwenIt’s been quite a while, what with one thing or another, but last night’s defeat of the Pirates in Peterborough deserved comment on these hallowed pages.
A return then for ‘beyond the blue line’ as a strong home performance saw the Phantoms take down Jason Hewitt’s Hull Pirates and guarantee themselves a semi-final berth in the Autumn Cup, with another match-up against the Pirates or the Sheffield Steeldogs in the final, should the Phantoms prevail in a semi-final against the Swindon Wildcats.
Whilst the opening period was nip and tuck with relatively few clear cut chances, the stars of the show were the two netminders – Jordan Marr in the home goal, and that rare beast in the NIHL, Czech import Tomas Fucik guarding the pipes for the Pirates.
Shots on goal in the opening twenty minutes had the Phantoms marginally ahead yet neither side looked likely to score in what felt like the proverbial chess battle as two hugely experienced coaches searched for the key to each other’s defences.
When the opener came (on 22 10), it was the result of the Pirates breaking quickly and Jordan Fisher picking the puck up in the high slot, taking a touch and whipping it low, through traffic, into Marr’s net. The Phantoms had started the second period brightly, but found themselves trailing.
The Pirate’s goal galvanised a Phantoms team that were under pressure from the visitors; the game was becoming more physical with decisions for either side not being called, and when Chamberlain took a penalty for a late hit the Phantoms capitalised, with Norton finishing on the doorstep after a sublime pass from Weldon found the D man on the edge of the crease, with a simple a tap in.
Great relief for the Phantoms on the half hour mark, though the story could’ve been so very different as Archer failed to convert a short-handed opportunity immediately prior to Norton’s goal.
The Phantoms dominated the shots on goal throughout the second period and controlled large passages of a third period punctuated by penalty calls on the Pirates, which saw the visitors increasingly frustrated. Despite having numerical superiority for large portions of the final stanza the Phantoms were up against a resolute and hugely experienced Hull outfit, who saw off each powerplay relatively comfortably.
With no further scoring in regulation, and a blank in overtime, it all came down to penalty shots. McEwen scored for the Phantoms and Marr kept out Archer, Chamberlain and Davies to seal the win.
The Phantoms’ defence looked resolute throughout, with Bowering having another strong outing, and the home side’s passing was crisp and efficient, especially through the latter phases of the second and in the third period. The home side created plenty of chances, but at time overplayed in the offensive zone, possibly looking for that killer pass to get Fucik moving in a way that they had perhaps struggled to do to in previous games this season.
Jordan Marr was the Phantoms’ MoM and Tomas Fucik deservedly took the MoM beers for a strong Hull team. It’ll be interesting to see them again this year – they have bags of experience and quality in players like Hewitt, Archer, Phillips and Heywood and will be a serious challenge in the North and in the Cups this year.
The Peterborough Phantoms can be found online at http://www.gophantoms.co.uk/
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beyond the blue line 