8:11pm Friday 11th December 2009
By Nigel McFarlane
MANCHESTER Phoenix have called up five players from the Trafford Metros.
The move comes after defencemen Joe Graham and James Neil as well as forwards Robert Lachowicz and Iain Bowie travelled to Hungary with the Great Britain under 20s side for the World Championships.
The quartet are set to be away for the next four games and that leaves a significant hole in player-coach Tony Hand's squad.
Forwards John Murray, Jake Nurse and Andy McKinney, defenceman Max Drakeley and goaltender Declan Ryan have been added to the roster to face Guildford and Romford this weekend.
And they'll be thrown straight into the melting pot as Phoenix lost 8-4 at Peterborough on Thursday night.
That means Manchester need to gain at least a point over the weekend to retain top spot in the English Premier League.
“I hope they’ll use the experience as a platform in furthering their career in ice hockey, and become better players for the benefit of both themselves and the Metros,” Hand said. “They have already been training with the EPL squad for several weeks now and I feel they are more than capable of doing a great job for the Phoenix.”
Tony Hand's side host Guildford tomorrow (Saturday, 7pm) before travelling to Romford a day later (5.15pm)
Tickets for Saturday's clash are available from the Silver Blades Ice Dome in Altrincham.
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