Peterborough Phantoms hosted the Manchester Phoenix at Planet Ice in Bretton for the last time in the regular season.

Manchester made the trip south looking for the points to consolidate third position in the league and looking to put some distance between themselves and fouth and fifth place teams Basingstoke Bison and Guildford Flames only a point behind them.
However, during warm up it looked like the game could be remembered for something other than playing as Phantoms D Man Doug MacIver had very close words with Phoenix Forward and former Elite League adversary Andre Payette.

1st Period

It was clear from the 1st drop of the puck that Manchester were on a mission. With a bench only missing North American hit man Ed Courtney they seemed the stronger of the two sides however it was the Phantoms that seemed to enjoy most of the early posession. It was the Phantoms who recieved the first power play of the game when Manchester defender Joe Graham recieved 2 minutes for Hooking at 10:58. manchester defended well and the penalty expired with no real threat. Following a stoppage 30 seconds later though, Manchester made their first attempt at a power play after the Phantoms recieved a 2 minute bench minor for too many men on the ice at 13:28. The Phantoms defended well, and as so often this season looking more of a threat on the penalty kill than the power play. Around the 15 minute mark Phantoms forward James knight seemed to land awkwardly following a simple challenge and had to be helped from the ice, playing no further part in the period.

While there were no further penalty scores and no goals in the first, it was far from a dull game with end to end action for the full 20 minutes, and Steve Fone for Manchester and Stephen Wall for the Phantoms playing out of their skins to leave the first period goal less.

2nd Period

The second period began as the first had ended with both teams fighting hard. It has to be said, that Manchester came out of the blocks a bit faster and gave the home netminder some work to do before the Phantoms settled down. A frantic period of defending around the half way point led to an interesting Cross Checking call against the Phantoms number 8, Tom Jeffrey at 29:58 and another penalty for the Phantoms to kill. It was during the penalty kill, that the returning number 12, James Knight agaim landed awkwardly, appearing to do some serious damage to his knee. Helped from the ice by his team mates, he would play no further part in the game. As the Phantoms got back to full strength, the game resumed it’s frantic end to end battle until just before the 35 minute mark and Captain Luke Boothroyd recieved 2 minutes for boarding. The Phantoms power play began to look threatening, but just before Manchester returned to full strength, Maris Ziedins was called for tripping at 36:32 giving a brief period of 4 on 4. With manchester back to full strength 12 seconds later they immediately began to threaten and following a rare defensive error from two of the Phantoms forwards, Tony hand set up Robert Lachowicz to put Manchester on the scoreboard at 38:13 for a Power Play goal.
The Phantoms fought back for the remaning minute of the second period but it wasn’t to be, the period ending 0-1.

3rd Period

As the third period began it was clear to see that the Phantoms were not going to let the game go without a fight. With both netminders having to perform acrobatics, making stop after stop the pressure on the Manchester defense started to tell and following a smart break by Callum Fowler, James Ferrara got the Phantoms onto the scoreboard at 49:12. Spurred on by this, Manchester threw everything they had at the Phantoms goal but could find almost no way through. On the one occasion they had Wall beaten, they were defeated by the pipe work, the frame ringing as the puck came back onto the ice. Manchesters desperation to retake the lead cost them as Stephen Wallace recieved 2 minutes for high sticks. manchester killed the penalty with some comfort, but it was not to last as D Man James Morgan and Canadian sniper Brent Gough set up Maris Ziedins for the Phantoms second goal at 54:55. On the restart Manchester redoubled their efforts, throwing the kitchen sink at the Phantoms. Their efforts looking to have paid off when Tom Carlon recieved a 2 minute Hooking call at 58:28 leaving Manchester on a power play for the final 90 seconds of the game. Shot after shot rained onto the Phantoms goal with Wall living up to his name. At the very very last 2nd it looked to have paid off as the puck crossed the line merest fractions of a second after the buzzer went. Phoenix hopes were dashed as referee Joy Tottman waved off the goal leaving the final score at Phantoms 2, Phoenix 1. Post buzzer protests from manchester import Andre Payette gained nothing but a 10 minute misconduct penalty and the visitors left ultimately disappointed.

Peterborough Phantoms – 2

Goal              G                      A                     A                 Time
1                   Ferrara J       Fowler                               49:12
2                   Ziedins           Gough           Morgan     54:55

Penalties
Bench                         Too many men               13:28     2 minutes
Jeffrey                        Cross Check                    29:58     2 minutes
Ziedins                        Tripping                           36:32     2 minutes
Carlon                         Hooking                           58:28      2 Minutes

Manchester Phoenix – 1        

Goal              G                      A                     A             Time
1                    Lachowicz    Hand                              38:13       PP

Penalties
Graham              Hooking              10:58            2 minutes
Boothroyd        Boarding             34:44            2 minutes
Wallace              High Sticks         50:52            2 minutes
Payette              Misconduct        60:00           10 minutes

MOM

Phantoms – Stephen Wall
Phoenix – Steve Fone

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