Manchester Phoenix 3 - Slough Jets 0

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Manchester Phoenix got their EPL campaign off to a flying start with a classic battling performance against early title favourites Slough Jets on Sunday night.

Phoenix came into the game off the back of a 4-3 win away at Basingstoke Bison on Saturday, but knew that Slough would present a very stern early challenge.

But Phoenix went for it from the start, and within seconds of the puck being dropped were pressing Gregg Rockman in the Jets’ goal. It was Marcus Kristofferson who broke the deadlock after five minutes, latching on to a pass from Tony Hand to push the puck into the net.

Slough came back strongly, but the Phoenix defence were dogged in their determination to thwart every Jets attack. Pavel Gomeniuk and Ladislav Harabin were immense at the back, and Ben Wood showed more than once why coach hand values his signature for a second season.

If the expectation was a full onslaught by Slough in the second period, it never really materialised. Jets’ new signing Doug Sheppard was consistently stifled by the hard-working Phoenix defence, and became less of a presence as the period wore on.

Kristofferson for Phoenix, on the other hand, grew in stature as the game progressed. Whenever he was on the ice his sure touch, confidence and strength caused problems for Slough.

Jets’ Paddy Ward left the ice half way through the second period after an injury, and the delay allowed Slough to regroup, but again Phoenix were equal to the Slough effort, and a tight, evenly-matched contest moved into its closing stages.

The pressure intensified on Phoenix in the third period as Jets went in search of an equaliser. Phoenix net minder Steve Fone, who had been excellent all night, pulled off a string of superb saves, including a double save during a penalty kill that rightly brought a standing ovation.

Phoenix put daylight between themselves and Slough on 47 minutes, as Curtis Hope set Kristofferson clear. The Swede swept down the ice before sliding a perfectly timed and positioned pass to Tony Hand, who swept it past Rockman

Slough redoubled their efforts and Man of the Match Fone was tested more and more, but was equal to every shot. The Jets pulled Rockman with a minute left, but the game was over when Curtis Huppe caught the puck in his own defensive zone and launched it the length of the ice into the empty Slough net.

Player coach Tony Hand said: “That was an immense victory tonight, and the guys should be proud of themselves.

“We know how good this Slough team is, and we knew how hard they would make us work, but we have a team that knows how to work hard and it showed.

“All over the ice, we were equal to them. The effort from the guys tonight was tremendous, and we’ve started the league campaign with a four-point weekend from two very difficult ties.

“I’m delighted for Steve Fone as well. To come under the pressure he did and get the shutout is no less than he deserved.

“We will take a lot of confidence from the way we have approached our opening weekend and rightly so. It’s very early days, but this team is certainly showing what it is capable of. Our next game is away at Milton Keynes Lightning next Saturday, and that will be another stern test, but if we stick to our game we can build on our excellent start and get some momentum going as the season progresses.”

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