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Phoenix and Capitals serve up 11-goal thriller

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Manchester Phoenix 7 - 4 Edinburgh Capitals

Sunday’s game at the Altrincham Ice Dome had just about everything, goals-a-plenty, near misses, physical play and a couple of fights too, before the Manchester Phoenix took the two valuable points on offer.

Speaking after the 11-goal thriller, Phoenix player coach Tony Hand commented, “that was a tough game, an exciting game for the supporters as both teams came to play hard and both went for the win. Edinburgh are no mugs and made us fight hard all the way, I thought we were pretty clinical in front of goal tonight, taking our chances well. I doubt too many people left the building tonight not feeling they’d had their moneys worth.”

Phoenix got the scoreboard moving in the seventh minute as with Omar Ennaffati in the penalty box, a sweeping shorthanded move saw Tony Hand and Brian Passmore feed Joe Tallari and the Phoenix leading goalscorer netted his 46th of the season through the legs of JF Perras in the Capitals goal. Just under two minutes later and the home side doubled their lead as Nick Whyatt worked the puck to Adam Walker to convert his fourth of the season. Edinburgh didn’t lie down and rode their luck as Tallari saw a shot carom back into play off the goal post and they capitalised on a 13th minute powerplay as Colin Hemingway reduced the arrears. However, Phoenix regained their two-goal lead just before the first interval as Sean Starke fed Luke Stauffacher and Perras found his shot too hot to handle as the puck escaped hit catching glove to drop over the goal line.

Edinburgh had a goal disallowed for kicking the puck into the net just 11 seconds into the second period that saw a marked increase in intensity from both sides and some big hits saw players exchanging words on a number of occasions. An altercation in the 25th minute saw Tallari and Hemingway exchange punches before Passmore and Adam Stefishen fought with both receiving Fighting Major penalties. Despite the fracas, Phoenix stayed calm an added a fourth marker in the 28th minute, Jeff MacMillan firing home from the left flank assisted by the tireless Tallari and Walker. Phoenix went nap in the 33rd minute as Ennaffati sent Tony Hand clear and the veteran Scot bamboozled Perras before sliding the puck home. Straight from the face-off, Stefishen and Brett Clouthier dropped the gloves as the Phoenix enforcer meted out his own form of justice for the attack by the Capitals player on Passmore earlier – both receiving five-minute major penalties for Fighting. Edinburgh reduced the arrears again within a minute as they bagged their second powerplay goal of the game, Mike Stutzel finding the net. The see-saw nature of the game continued as within 30 seconds, Phoenix restored their four goal margin as captain Scott Basiuk crashed home a shot on a powerplay advantage.

The Scottish side dug in to again pull themselves back into the game in the third period as the impressive Hemingway bagged his second of the game in the 47th minute. Both sides then saw posts hit the pipework; Hemingway denied a hat-trick marker before Brett Clouthier was denied in similar fashion. Tempers that had simmered throughout most of the game erupted again in the 56th minute as Tallari and Caps goalie JF Perras became involved before Stefishen’s involvement prompted Brett Clouthier into a second explosive bout of fistcuffs that saw both players ejected from the game. Still the goals kept coming as Edinburgh added their fourth of the game through a short-handed strike by Ryan Crane in the 58th minute before Tallari settled the outcome with an empty-netter in the final minute.

A Phoenix spokesperson added, “The game may not have been one for the purists, but for excitement and incident it did not disappoint. Credit the Capitals, they came to make a game of it and they did just that. We’ve got two more games against them before the playoffs so who knows what might happen in them.”

Phoenix travel to the high-flying Sheffield Steelers next Saturday before hosting the MobilX Newcastle Vipers next Sunday with a 5.30pm face-off in the Altrincham ice Dome.