Phoenix rise from the Flames to win Finals weekend!

'The Phoenix had, against the best team in the land, won the final dance of the season'

 

Re-wind about 24 hours and those same fans were filing into the Coventry SkyDome to watch the second semi-final of the day between the Basingstoke Bison and the Manchester Phoenix. Earlier in the day, the league winners, the Guildford Flames, had come through their encounter with the MK Lightning. The Flames did what title winning sides can do, win while not playing their best. Standing in the way of the Phoenix meeting them in Sunday's final were the Basingstoke Bison. A team the Phoenix had only beaten once this season and a team with possibly the league’s best goalie between the pipes.

 

On the flip side, the Phoenix could go into this game with little to lose. Most people in the arena would expect the Bison to win. So there was little expectation for us Phoenix fan's. Personally I thought we had a chance, but a small one. All would depend on the mood of the Bison goalie and what Manchester Phoenix would turn up. A fully fit, for once, Phoenix squad took the ice and took the game to the Bison. Scoring the first goal, I think, surprised a lot of people. The game was a close affair, the Phoenix played some good hockey and the game remained close throughout. After a 5 minute overtime session that produced no goals we went to the lottery of a penalty shootout. At this point I must admit to giving up a little bit. There was no way we could get past Lyle in the Bison goal on penalty shots? Surely? The first round saw each team score twice so extra shooters were needed. Phoenix went first through James Archer, attacking the goal at the far end from us Phoenix fans, James went up ice, deked and as Lyle slid across, time seemed to slow. After what felt like an age the red light went on, we all jumped up and exploded with delight, we knew that the Bison had to score or we were in the final. The Bison player/coach Doug Sheppherd would take the crucial shot. He attacks the goal right in-front of us, comes in, puts a fake on Fone in our goal and lifts the puck...........clang..........the puck hits the plexi behind the goal....no goal....no goal. Phoenix are through to the final and we all went mad!

 

Sunday saw many a sore head come back for the final. The Phoenix second appearance at the final game in as many years. This time, our lads would take on the league winners. Guildford Flames are the big spenders of our hockey league and as a result have strength in depth like no other. We are allowed 4 'import' players, Guildford have 5 and some of the top British players in this country. On paper the Flames have the obvious advantage but, one thing in our favour, the Flames like to play hockey. In games of proper hockey the Phoenix always have a chance! It would be tough but, the Phoenix had a great chance of securing a different outcome to that final 12 months ago.

 

In the run up to the game it was obvious that, every supporter in the arena, bar Guildford fans, wanted the Phoenix to win. 'Anyone but Guildford, anyone but Guildford la laa laa laa' was the chant. Which gave us a great feeling, we had all the support, we just hoped our guys could put on a show now!

 

Against the Guildford Flames, the Phoenix always bring out their best. These games are great adverts for Ice Hockey in this country and the final was no different. From the first puck drop both sides went at the game fast and strong. From the early exchanges the Phoenix were edging the play. Even surprising the Flames are how hard they came playing. To win the trophy the Phoenix really needed to score first and they did, on the power play too! The arena erupted as the Phoenix fans at one end went mad. The teams captain Luke Boothroyd ghosted round the back of the play to be found open for a back post tap in. Great goal! The Phoenix continued to press and forecheck the Flames while not allowing a goal. By the end of the first session the Phoenix were ahead 1-0.

The Phoenix carried on their great form and struck hard in the second period with James Archer scoring a fantastic breakaway effort, then the Phoenix scored a real heart breaker for the Flames. A short handed effort from Barri McKenzie.

Flames needed a quick start to the third and they got it, scoring just 40 seconds into the period. Us Phoenix fans started looking at each other with some nerves hoping this was not the start of a comeback! We needn't have worried! A perfect reply to the Flames goal, the Phoenix scored another shorthanded effort. Tony Hand skating in was passed the puck and, just around the faceoff spot unleashed a howitzer of a slapshot high above Mark Lee (Guildford goalie) right shoulder. In a rare show of emotions from Tony he jumped up into the plexi in front of us. We all knew how big that goal was! To make things even better, Phoenix standout import forward Michal Psurny scored and exact replica of Hand's earlier effort to make it 5-1 Phoenix. This is when we really believed and, despite the Flames pulling a goal back, with the clock running down the team and fans alike began to revel in victory. When the final buzzer went we all went mad. 10 years or the Phoenix, so many times the bridesmaids or the nearly men, the Phoenix had done it and won their first playoff trophy.

 

The feeling after the game and in the pub's after was of shock, after so many years we had actually done it, actually won! We were all just relaxing and smiling. Sad that the 2012/13 EPL season had now ended but, what a way for it to end! I only hope the pictures show how much fun we had!

Thanks must go to Richard Allen, official Phoenix photographer for the pictures!

Phoenix v Bracknell Bees Playoff Quarter Final 31st March Game Review

Well, it's that time of year again! Playoff hockey time! Beards are grown, hotels booked, drinking budget calculated. There's no other time like playoff time. The Phoenix ended their EPL regular season on a bit of a damp squib with two games where big leads were lost. Despite this a playoff quarter final beckoned against the Bracknell Bees. A much more preferable match up than against the Wildcats it has to be said. The Phoenix would face a tough away leg down in Bracknell before returning to the Ice Dome for one last time this season.

The Phoenix could well do a job down in Bracknell but, the main thing, would be to keep the scores close. As Tambo mentioned on the Phoenix podcast, the Bees have conceded on average 3.9 goals a game. Keep the scores tight and the Phoenix will be in with a great shot. So the away leg, from reports, sounded like the Phoenix struggled a little. Steve Fone putting in a man of the match performance as it ended 4-3 to the Bracknell Bees.
One last time the Phoenix faithful descended on the Altrincham Ice Dome, personally, I wasn't worried. Im not too sure why either, the Bees had the lead, Phoenix have struggled defensively but, over 6 periods of hockey we surely had too much fire-power for the Bees. Surely Tony would not allow another lacklustre performance and make sure the Phoenix made it to Coventry?

First Period: Phoenix had to come out and control the game from the first whistle, score the first goal and the aggregate scores are level. Allow the Bees to score and that hill, becomes a little more difficult to overcome. For most of the first period the Phoenix controlled puck possession and camped out in the Bees zone. They did get the first goal with a gorgeous powerplay effort from Flaten, great to see him on the scoreboard as goals have been hard to come by for the Norwegian, goal timed at 12min 33sec. The period progressed and the Phoenix domination continued, Annetts being put under more and more pressure as the Phoenix looked to take the lead. With almost perfect timing they did just that! With just two seconds to go in the period Flaten, again, scored to give the Phoenix the lead overall. A great shot through the five hole with no chance for the Bees to post a reply. 2-0 up on the night after the first period, controlling the game, the perfect start for the Phoenix.

Second Period: With the lead overall now obtained the Phoenix just had to concentrate, control the game and win each period. In some ways this session of 20minutes would decide our playoff fate. Thankfully the team were up-for-it and controlled the puck again for the majority of the period. In the first and now the second period the Phoenix had done well to stay out of the penalty box. With the Bees in penalty trouble the Phoenix got their third of the night. On the powerplay Robert Schnabel took the puck from behind the Phoenix net and started a mazy run up the ice. It seemed like no Bees player was willing or able to stop him and as he breached the zone he unleashed a lovely wrist shot to put the Phoenix up 3-0. The goal coming at 27min 27sec. The Phoenix really took hold of the game when they scored their fourth of the game. Andy McKinnie scoring late on in the period at 29min 58. This was just after a controversial moment in the game. After some pushing and shoving in front of the Phoenix net Spearing paired off with Pozivil goading him into a fight. Both players were in each others faces and Pozivil made a small head-butting motion, no contact was made it has to be said. Spearing sat a 2+10 misconduct while Pozivil was ejected with a 10+match for headbutting. Disappointing for Pozivil, an appeal is on the cards and he will, hopefully, be able to play finals weekend.

Third Period: The third period saw more goals scored, the Bees had to open up and press for goals if they had any hope of reaching Coventry. The Bees made a good start scoring early in the period at 42min 01sec on the powerplay through Bronniman. A shot from Bendik was tipped in by Ollie, a lovely tip in actually! The Phoenix answered back quickly when Schabel got his second of the game at 45min 28sec. Bees got their second goal of the game at 50min 07sec through Smital on the powerplay. The Phoenix, however, hit back and killed off the game with two more goals, both on the powerplay. The Phoenix 6th came at 51min 10 through Luke Boothroyd and the 7th at 57min 04sec through McKinnie's second of the game. The Phoenix running out 7-2 winners and progression to finals weekend.

Verdict: A potentially tricky tie negotiated with some ease in the second leg. A good game for the Phoenix to banish recent defencive troubles and a great weekend for Fone to get back up to match speed. It was disappointing to loose Pozivil, I only hope he can play this weekend. I would hate for his last game of the season to end on such a negative note. In the end it was a commanding performance from the Phoenix and a beautiful rendition of 'Que sera sera, what ever will be will be, were going to Coventry, Que sera sera' rang out round the Ice Dome!

Attendance: Back to a more average crowd for the Phoenix, around 1,100 in.
 
Phoenix 7 Bracknell 2 - Phoenix Article
Phoenix 7 Bracknell 2 - Bees Article
Phoenix 7 Bracknell 2 - The Bolton News
Phoenix 7 Bracknell 2 - Cheshire Today

A true Rollercoaster - EPL Finals Weekend 2012

As I write this im still exhausted from a roller coaster weekend in Coventry! The weekend truly had it all, the high's and low's, great times and not so great times. For me the weekend has been one of the best finals weekends ive had in hockey. Great games to watch, great banter and great friends to share the experiences with. So, without much further delay, here's my spiel and guff covering the four days of finals weekend!
Friday Myself, my better half and parents arrived in a sunny Coventry just after 3pm and quickly settled into our hotel. After grabbing some food a quick run round Coventry's finest (cough cough) shopping establishments we descended on the Old Windmill pub which, for the weekend, would become the Phoenix pub! It was great catching up with fellow Phoenix fan's and discussing how we thought saturday would pan out, and chatting with rival fans trying to decided who they would support. That night in the Windmill truly shows why hockey is a sport unique in this country.
Saturday After filling up on the hotel's all you can eat breakfast it was a short walk down to the Windmill for the first Phoenix Podcast live show. Taking over the front room Ben, ably assisted by producer Alex took to the helm for the show. Broadcasting across the world to over 250 people apparently, the show was well put together and good fun to be on. Myself, My Russell (off of Banners on the Wall), Tambo and others chatted through nearly 2hrs of show discussing the EPL and the showpiece finals weekend. With the show finally done and dusted it was time for everyone to decamp to the SkyDome for semi final number one.
Flames v Jets In my finals pre-view blog last week I picked the Flames to win this. With the SkyDome packed to the rafters EPL finals weekend got off to a noisy bang. During the first 30seconds an incident happened that would, ultimately, affect the Flames and their chances in this semi-final. With a Slough attack Mark Lee made a save from the advancing Jets attacker. As the attacker skated across Lee, Lee seemed to twist and fall down injured. A long period of treatment followed, but it was clear Lee could take no further part in the game. He was stretcher off and Hadfield was in the play the game. Quite an introduction for the backup netminder! This change didn't seem to hurt the Flames as they settled into their game and finished the first period 2-0 up.
From the second period onwards the Flames sat back and invited the Jets to come into the game, this would be their undoing. As the Jets confidence grew so did their goal threat. It felt like the Flames switched off and the Jets got right back into the game and took the lead and never looked back. i remember thinking, if I were a Flames fan, I would be so disappointed at how my team lost that game. Well on top but then completely switching off, obviously losing Lee so early didn't help, the Flames are good enough to cope! So, Slough through to the final, who would join them?
Phoenix v Steeldogs With nerves rising through the first semi-final it was time for the Phoenix to take on the Steeldogs. In my preview blog I couldn't call this as games between us have been tight feisty affairs. The game lived up to the hype and was a fantastic barn burner and a great one for the neutral. The Phoenix opened up the first period with a lot of physicality which surprised the Steeldogs. For the first and second period the Phoenix were on top and, at one point, were 5-2 up. The end of the second period saw the flashpoint which unleashed the pent up frustration in the game. A slash by Cingel on Morgan started the bench clearance with numerous scuffles. Payette was trying to start on everyone, Ciran Long bit and took on the big making taking him to the ice, much to the pleasure of most in the stands.
Sadly after the scuffle and going into the third period the lead didn't last and in the final period the Steeldogs score twice in 30seconds to tie the game and force overtime. The extra session couldn't produce a winner with both Fone and Bowns pulling off superb saves to keep their teams in the game. This semi final would be decided by a penalty shootout and, this is where Payette's ego lost the tie for me. The Phoenix went with Faith, Koulikov and Long the Dogs, Ozolins, G Wood and Payette. For me, G Wood and Payette are not good enough for penalty shots, Ozolins is a no brainer but, I think, G Wood and Payette's selection smacks of 'I want to score the winner against my old club'. Ozolins scored for Sheffield, Faith for Phoenix and, predictably G Wood and Payette failed to convert. Sudden death penalty shots followed and Bebris missed for Sheffield and Wallace, attacking the goal in front of the 520 strong Phoenix faithful roofed the puck to send the fans into jubilation and the Phoenix into their first final in their history.
Saturday night was party night! After grabbing some food the Phoenix fans descended on the Windmill and packed it full. Much drinking, banter and singing was had until the wee small hours where those fans headed for bed in anticipation for the big day that lay ahead.
Sunday Finals day! A day the Phoenix faithful had not experienced before! The big game was at 4pm and was preceded by the under 18's final between the Guildford Phoenix and Sheffield Steelhawks. Unfortunately I missed most of this game, getting into the SkyDome for the start of the third period. From what I saw Sheffield were the better team, they seemed better drilled and just had the extra skill. They won the cup but I cant remember the score! There wasn't much time before the final so most stayed in the SkyDome to drink in the pre game buildup!
Phoenix v Jets The final, the biggest game of the season for the Phoenix and a chance to end the season with some silverware. The game got underway and, even from a Phoenix fan perspective, the Phoenix were struggling. I imagine it was a cocktail of nerves and the semi final against Sheffield, but the Phoenix looked off the pace and things were just not clicking straight away. Passes were off and we just couldn't set up in the Slough zone. The Jets, looking more refreshed and used to the situation, were quickly 2-0 up. Credit to the Phoenix the end of the first period saw the score at 2-1 Slough.
As the game continued the Jets continued to have the upper hand, through the second into the third period it was obvious the Phoenix tank was dry. We couldn't match Slough at all. As the clock wound down to the Jets eventual win the Phoenix faithful made one last push to salute their club and the fans sung their hearts out. The final buzzer went and the dream was over, it would be runners up medals this time! One final salute between the players and fans followed as the curtain fell on the 2011/12 EPL season. Disappointed but proud the Phoenix faithful left the stands to contemplate the off season.
A group of around 50 Phoenix fans waited outside the SkyDome to give each and every Phoenix player a heartfelt send off, it was only what was deserved. Having given their all during the season and for it to come up short this time, they deserved our thanks. Each one was sang onto the bus and many a tear was shed. After grabbing some food there was time for one more question, To the Windmill?
For one last time a group of us took up a table in the Windmill to reflect on the weekend and the season and, with pride, salute our team for one last time.
Monday All that was left to do was have one last breakfast and pack up to head north on the M6 back to Cheshire and turn our attention to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Hockey in the UK was done and dusted, but the 2011/12 hockey season still has a few twists and turns left. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the Coventry weekend as much as I did, it was one of the best yet!
Here's to a quick summer and the 2012/13 season!

EPL PLayoff Quarterfinal Thoughts

With the regular season done its now time to look at the playoffs! It's a fun time of year......honest! In reality playoff hockey is special, I know in the UK it really only consists of one of games. Not 7 games series as our friends across the pond experience, but it is different. Any of the eight qualifying teams have a chance and there is always the possibility of an upset. Look at the Wildcats last year in the EPL, look at the Hull Stingrays in this years EIHL playoffs. Who's to say it won't happen again! So we have four pairings, let's have a look at each one before nailing my picks to the mast.

Guildford v Peterborough EPL champions and EPL cup champions of the current season take on the 8th placed Phantoms, a team which, like last year, struggled for most of the 54 games regular season before turning it on...again, in the stretch to reach the post season. All this, despite losing one of, along with Bowns, the best goalies in the EPL in Stephen Wall. As the Phoenix found in their final weekend's games the Phantoms are a tough team to play this time of year. The Flames are the Flames, they have skill, some strength and a depth like no other in the league. The Flames can roll three full strength lines and still have imports sitting out, this has to have been a factor in their league and cup success. I love an upset, when it doesn't involve the Phoenix, and i'd love to see one here. But I cant see it! The key has to be the first leg (probably) in Peterborough. To have any chance the Phantoms have to take a lead to the Spectrum, otherwise the Flames machine will roll them! Prediction: Flames by a few goals!

Manchester v Swindon I will try and go through this as level headily as possible! The Wildcats are the form team heading into the post season, and with Hoog and Nell in form the Wildcats do offer a strong offensive threat. Swindon hold an advantage over the Phoenix in the link centre, having won two of the three games down in Swindon so its this vital first leg that holds the key. The Phoenix go into the post season having secured second place after a monumental season. One unprecedented in its upheaval in the Phoenix roster. Having not iced a full side all year, to finish second is a fantastic effort. An effort that really requires some reward. Crucially for the Phoenix they won the final two meetings between the sides and one of those being down in the Link Centre. Both legs will be tight, if the Phoenix can keep it close, or even bring a lead back to Altrincham I fancy our chances. Prediction: Phoenix by the seat of their pants! I see many other EPL fans see this as an upset. They are right, but I do believe over 6 periods the Phoenix have the quality to do it.

Sheffield v Basingstoke My feelings on the Scimitars/Steeldogs has grown from a 'meh' to a down right hatred of them. I despise the 'brand' of hockey they play, I hate how certain players have changed teams and morphed into completely different animals on the ice (rose tinteds firmly in place)......but.......I respect the job Andre Payette has done. He has taken a struggling team and turned them into title contenders. They are, possibly, the toughest team in the EPL to break down. The Bison have struggled, they certainly haven't done as well as I thought they would since adding Stephen Wall. That being said they still have quality, Moria is a legend, Chinn is annoyingly good as is Wiggins. Sheffield's stand-out star is Ozolins, he will score in the 6 periods of hockey. The key for the Bison is restricting him and the Steeldogs top line. If they can shut that top line down they can win this tie. Prediction: Sheffield hold the advantage in the season series and, as much as I want them to, I will have to disappoint Mr Anthony over at Banners on the Wall and go with the Steeldogs.

Slough v MK This pairing, for me, is the toughest to predict. even though the season series is weighted in favour of MK the Jets have some potent offence. In Calder and Pliskauskas they have two of the best imports at EPL level. I should know both have terrorised the Phoenix all year! MK are not the team they were, in the three games I have seen in Altrincham they have skill and talent but, tend to lose their rag to easily in games. Once this happens their chances have gone. The Jets are a gritty team and one that has masses of EPL experience, they know how to play the game and the ref. Prediction: Well I guess I should nail my colours to the mast. MK have a chance but, on balance of what Ive seen in the Phoenix v MK and Slough I would give the tie to Slough. So that's a Flames/Phoenix/Steeldogs and Jets final four. Good for the crowds, there's still many possibilities for an upset. Sure as hell im not feeling the most comfortable about the Phoenix against Swindon but, isn't that what playoff hockey is all about? The UN-predictability! Makes the predictions above, utterly pointless really!

Phoenix Ascension

So, after many long years of hurt and waiting the Phoenix have made the end of season playoff weekend! A proper review will follow tomorrow, but for now I wanted to share this......



Enjoy!

Here are a few more from youtube: