Phoenix battle Flames to take win

Monday, 21st September 2015

Manchester Phoenix made it three wins from four games with a hard-fought 3-1 over the Guildford Flames on Sunday evening.

Phoenix hosted the Flames at Deeside missing both Stanislav Gron and Ben Wood, but welcoming James Parsons and Simon Furnival, guesting from the Deeside Dragons.

Phoenix started brightly however a penalty to Trent Hope saw Erik Piatek score on the Powerplay after some quick puck movement from the visitors at 7:46. Phoenix saw off another penalty before tensions erupted in the final seconds of the period. Andy McKinney took exception to a hit from Mark Thomas and picked up a 2+10 incitement penalty with 12.5 seconds left in the period. The benches then came together at the buzzer following a late hit from Danny Meyers with Guildford leading 1-0.

In the second stanza, Phoenix weathered some early Flames pressure before scoring two outstanding goals. James Archer danced through the Guildford defence before roofing the puck over Flames netminder Stephen Wall’s shoulder at 29:49 before Mark Thomas played a great stretch pass to release Robin Kovar one-on-one, who outwaited Wall to score at 34:17. Phoenix ended the period shorthanded but leading 2-1.

An evenly-matched third period saw Phoenix extend their lead at 42:40 when Gareth O’Flaherty collected a rebound off the boards to slot past Wall. Both sides had chances as the period wore on, but Phoenix’s stubborn defensive display blunted the visitors’ attempts to get back into the game. Despite Guildford pulling their netminder, Phoenix held out for an excellent 3-1 win.

Phoenix host the Sheffield Steeldogs at Deeside next Sunday, 27th September, with a 6:30pm face-off.