Hat-trick hero Cingel helps Phoenix bounce back
12:16am Monday 19th December 2011 in Sport By Nigel McFarlane
WINNER: Phoenix forward Martin Cingel celebrates his hat-trick goal
EPL ICE HOCKEY:
Manchester Phoenix 4 Milton Keynes Lightning 2
Hat-trick hero Martin Cingel helped Manchester Phoenix grab their first home win since the end of November in a thrilling, full-blooded encounter on Sunday.
Phoenix were desperate to bounce back from a 9-0 battering at the hands of Slough Jets on Saturday. Still without Tony Hand and Stephen Wallace, Phoenix gave a home debut to former Peterborough Phantoms forward James Spurr.
The game was played with pace and strength from the start, and it was Ciaran Long who gave first blood to Phoenix when he slotted home a pass from Tom Duggan on seven minutes.
Phoenix man of the match Martin Cingel doubled the lead with the first of his three goals on 11 minutes.
Leigh Jamieson pulled a goal back for Lightning six minutes into the second period, and both sides created plenty of opportunities in a frenetic, end-to-end game before Jamieson grabbed his second to make it 2-2 on 46 minutes.
Cingel bagged his second of the night, and a third for Phoenix, on 52 minutes when he fired through an impossibly small gap past Lightning goalie Alex Mettam, and he completed his hat trick in front of a delirious home crowd on 57 minutes.
Phoenix coach Tony Hand said: “I said before the game that these were tough times but we would come through as a team because we have character and belief. Tonight we showed that in spades.
“The guys were fantastic and they deserved the win tonight. After the luck we’ve had recently, it would have been easy to let our heads go down when we lost the lead, but we dug deep and came right back at them.
I’m proud of the guys, and it’s nice to go into Christmas on the back of a thrilling win. And I’m delighted for the fans that have stuck by us, cheered us on through thick and thin. This was a huge performance and it was for them.”
