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Phoenix prepare for first Roses clash

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Phoenix fans will be eagerly anticipating the visit of the Sheffield Steeldogs to Deeside on Sunday evening for the first meeting between the two teams this season.

The traditional pre-season battle for the War of the Roses trophy between Phoenix and Sheffield will now take place in December, and so this is the first opportunity for both sides to claim the bragging rights this season.

Phoenix had the better of the league matches during the 2014/15 season, which surprisingly saw the away team win four of the six encounters.  Phoenix picked up eight points from a possible twelve, including an emphatic 7-4 win in Sheffield and an 8-2 win at home.

Phoenix have started this season strongly, with three wins from the opening four league games, and will be looking to build on last Sunday’s come-from-behind 3-1 success against Guildford.  James Archer has scored in each of Phoenix’s four games so far and will be hoping to continue his streak this weekend.

The summer saw some changes within the Sheffield organisation, with Greg Wood named Player/Coach after Dominic Osman left to join the newly-formed Hull Pirates.  Talented Lithuanian forward Arnoldas Bosas signed from Kazakhstan outfit HK Almaty and has already registered six points in four games.  Sheffield also welcomed back Stanislav Lascek and have opted to go with an import netminder and three import forwards this season.

Sheffield’s season started slowly with opening weekend defeats to Telford and Bracknell.  However, the Steeldogs picked up maximum points last weekend with a 5-4 win at MK Lightning and a 3-1 home success over Swindon, so Phoenix will have their work cut out to claim the points this weekend.