Phoenix beat the Bees in another late show
5:01pm Tuesday 3rd January 2012 in Sport By Nigel McFarlane
EPL ICE HOCKEY:
Manchester Phoenix 3 Bracknell Bees 2 (after OT)
Manchester Phoenix completed their festive programme with a fourth consecutive win, this time over a determined, hard-working Bracknell Bees side.
Phoenix were still without Tony Hand and Tom Duggan, who sustained another injury in the 4-1 win away at Milton Keynes on Friday.
There were no goals in a low-key first period that was shaded by Phoenix, but it was Bracknell who scored, on the breakaway and against the run of play, early in the second period, when Scott Spearing slotted the puck past Steve Fone on 21 minutes.
Phoenix pressed hard for the equaliser, and it came on 32 minutes when Slava Koulikov pounced on a rebound to fire past Bees’ Man of the Match Carl Ambler. Phoenix took the lead on 38 minutes through Jaroslav Spelda and dominated the rest of the second period.
The same domination of the game by Phoenix continued in the third, but Bracknell were always threatening on the breakaway, and so it proved on 55 minutes when Lukas Smital grabbed an equaliser for Bees.
Despite camping out in the Bracknell zone during the closing stages, Phoenix could not find a winner in regulation time, but a delay of game penalty on Bracknell’s Alex Barker on 59:25 proved key. It gave Phoenix the power play going into overtime, and Slava Koulikov smashed in the winner just 46 seconds into the extra period.
Phoenix coach Tony hand said: “That wasn’t too pretty, but the main thing is the two points. We were made to work hard and we should have scored more from the number of chances we created, but it just wasn’t sitting for us at times tonight.
“But we didn’t give up, and once again we got the win we deserved. We are building a good momentum for the second half of the season, and confidence is growing.”
