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Fankhouser injury forces Phoenix move for Fone

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Manchester Phoenix number one netminder Scott Fankhouser returned from Belfast on Sunday nursing an injury sustained in his sides 6-2 loss to the Giants on Saturday evening.

Speaking on Sunday evening, player coach Tony Hand confirmed, “Scott picked up the initial strain late in the first period, but battled bravely on to finish the game. He was sore afterwards and that prompted a series of ‘phone calls to try and secure a suitable replacement in time for next weekend’s home double header against Cardiff and Nottingham.”

Hand added, “Andy (Costigan) and myself rang a number of people on Saturday night and we’re pleased that we reached agreement with the Cassidy Coventry Blaze to secure the services of Steven Fone for next weekend. We’ll obviously keep a close eye on the situation with Scott once our own medical team has examined him and given their verdict. Naturally, we’re hoping he’ll be back as soon as possible.”

GM Andy Costigan added, “The move to bring in Steven Fone is in no way a slight on Adam Summerfield or Benn Schofield who have jointly taken over the back-up role and who have been training up with the Elite League team. They still have games for their respective Under-18 and ENL teams and with us battling to ensure our playoff berth, it would be unfair to put them under that kind of pressure. Steven Fone is in his second season with the Blaze and played previously in the Elite League and this is the right decision. Adam and Benn will continue to train with us and that alone will continue to help their development for the future.”