Last weekend, the game up for viewing in
the Ice Dome, was an important one versus the Guildford Flames. A saturday
night game saw a big crowd come to Altrincham, including a large away following,
to watch 1st v 3rd. One thing you can count on is, games against the Flames
are blumin good ones to watch! The game saw the Phoenix at full strength
and we all settled in.
First Period: Right from the off the
game exploded into life with some great end to end hockey. No matter which
side of the divide you were on, the game was entertaining! Both Lee and
Fone in goal were proving up to the task to with some early saves to prevent
go ahead goals. The first goal did come, and came for the Phoenix. McKinne
was fed the puck down the left wing and, as he entered the Flames zone,
unleashed a laser of a shot to Lee's top right corner. Such an accurate
shot Lee had no chance! The first goal timed at 14min 54sec. The period
continued with both sides pressing, the Phoenix with most of the possession
but the Flames with the better quality chances. The Flames are an impressive
team to watch, I don't think there is a better team on the transition from
defensive zone to attacking opportunity.
Second Period: The second continued
as the first left off, but the Phoenix were quick to extend their lead.
At 22min 58sec Psurny got his first goal of the night. What happened next
was amazing....the Phoenix scored a powerplay goal! Going on the advantage
the Phoenix were able to move the puck around the perimeter of the zone
with speed. When the puck made it to the right wing it was passed up to
Boothroyd who was closing in on Lee, he unleased a lovely slapshot which
went straight for the top right corner, timed 30min 46sec. It was right
in my eye line and could not have been more accurate even if Crosby tried!
Exactly three minutes later the Phoenix did it again, at 33min 46sec the
puck began its movement only to find its way to Pozivil's stick for another
slapshot and the Phoenix 4th goal. At this point the Flames called a timeout
to regroup. Going into the second intermission the Phoenix were 4-0 up
but not clear. The Flames are too good to not score!
Third Period: Phoenix got the perfect
start in the third period, Psurny grabbed a second goal just 40sec into
the session to give the Phoenix an impressive 5-0 advantage. The home faithful
were in the stratosphere about a minute later when the home team scored
again. At 41min 57sec Flaten fired the puck on the net only for Rick Skeene
to put it past his own keeper. I can't remember if it was after the 5th
or 6th goal but Guildford changed netminder. With the score now 6-0 the
pressure on the Phoenix eased, but Guildford are a team that cannot be
counted out. The final goal of the game came for the Flames and, in an
effort to atone for his earlier mistake, it was Skeene who scored it, timed
45min 37sec. The rest of the period wound down and the Phoenix secured
an impressive victory against the Flames.
Verdict: Brilliant game, brilliant result
for the home team and fans. The Flames have hammered the Phoenix down in
Guildford more than once so it was nice to dish out the punishment for
once! I remember commenting on the Phoenix podcast, when asked about MOM.
you couldn't pick out one player who shone, the whole team were excellent.
If the Phoenix could re-create that performance every game we would be
league champs!
Attendance: As said up at the top it
was a good crowd in the Ice Dome, i'll guess at 1,300.
Phoenix 6 Guildford 1 - Phoenix Article
Phoenix 6 Guildford 1 - Flames Article
Phoenix 6 Guildford 1 - MEN Article
Phoenix 6 Guildford 1 - Cheshire Today
Telford 1 Phoenix 6 - Phoenix Article
No comments:
Post a Comment