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Phoenix take the points in a topsy-turvy thriller

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Bracknell Bees 4 – 5 Manchester Phoenix

Despite outshooting their opponents 52-29, the Manchester Phoenix had player coach Tony Hand to thank for the game winning goal as the Bracknell Bees twice fought back to level the scores and give the visitors some nervous moments.

A great early start for the Phoenix and their large and noisy travelling support as James Neil forced home the opening goal inside three minutes with assists credited to Jaakko Hagelberg and Andre Payette. Phoenix had the puck in the Bees net within seconds of the restart, but it was washed out as the goalframe was off its moorings. Phoenix were well on top in the opening exchanges with Carl Ambler in the Bees goal under heavy pressure and seeing lots of action and they continued to dominate until penalty trouble saw them two men short and a slightly mishit shot from Cesky in the 17th minute deceived Steve Fone in the Phoenix goal and tied the score at one-one. Phoenix responded almost immediately as Adam Walker found Tony Hand and the player coach laid it on a plate for Robert Lachowicz to restore the lead at the first break.

Phoenix continued to hold sway in the early stages of the second period with Ambler again much the busier goalie. Iain Bowie missed a gilt-edged chance before Phoenix added a third marker in the 28th minute, Hagelberg firing into the top corner with a precise finish assisted by Greg Wood and Payette. The flow of the game was somewhat disrupted by some scrappy play until Michal Pinc erupted with the referee over an offside call and was dismissed for Misconduct and his ejection lit a fire in the home side as they bagged two goals in just sixteen seconds in the 37th minute through Terry Miles and player coach Claude Dumas to draw level totally against the run of play.

Bracknell having drawn level incurred two minor penalties in the opening moments of the third period and on the resulting two-man advantage, Phoenix restored their lead as Hand fed Adam Walker for the easy finish. More penalty madness followed, this time involving the visitors with Hagelberg and Tony Hand penalised and almost inevitably, in the 47th minute the Bees again restored parity with Dumas notching his second of the game. The penalty trait continued as Carl Graham was penalised for levelling Stephen Wallace and on the powerplay, Tony Hand buried a rebound after a shot from Hagelberg came back off the post with Ambler well beaten. The remaining minutes saw Bracknell desperately trying to force an third equaliser and in the final moments, the Phoenix cleverly run the clock down to secure a valuable two points and a clean sweep over the Bees in the Hive this season.

Phoenix player coach Tony Hand summed up his thoughts saying, “The score does not reflect how well I thought we played nor how we dominated Bracknell tonight. I’m not quite sure how we haven’t scored at least five or six more goals. We played pretty solidly tonight, just a few mistakes that they capitalised on, but we should have been home and dry. We needed these two points tonight to keep us in touch and I still think the title race, whilst looking good for Milton Keynes at the moment, still has some twists and turns to come, and I think we can still be a part of the final shake-up.”