Phoenix overpower Sheffield in Deeside

Sunday, 27th September 2015

Michal Satek stole the show with a stunning hat trick as Phoenix saw off the Sheffield Steeldogs with a 5-2 win in Deeside on Sunday evening.

Phoenix had Stanislav Gron and Mark Thomas both missing from the line-up, however the hosts gave a home debut to Czech defenceman Jan Platil and included Deeside Dragons players Ross Kennedy and Paul Davies.

Phoenix played a high-tempo game from the start, and soon took the lead when Robin Kovar picked out Michal Satek, and he slammed the puck over Sheffield netminder Dalibor Sedlar's shoulder at 2:09. Phoenix kept up the pressure as Sheffield took a couple of first period penalties, but despite outshooting their visitors by 22-5, Phoenix only led 1-0 after 20 minutes.

The second period was more of an even affair, with Sheffield forcing a couple of Phoenix penalties, however Steve Fone made a number of saves to keep Phoenix ahead. At the other end, Sedlar was also kept busy, denying both Kovar and Satek with good saves, as the score remained 1-0.

The third period exploded with a flurry of goals. Kovar set up Satek at 44:55 to extend Phoenix's lead but Sheffield went straight down the other end and grabbed their first goal of the night from Ashley Calvert at 45:24.

The trend continued with Satek this time setting up Kovar to slam home at 45:46 but Sheffield again replied through Lubomir Korhon at 46:08. Phoenix grabbed the all-important next goal at 56:35 when Satek completed his hat trick after a slick passing move with Kovar. Kovar completed the scoring at 59:36 with an empty net goal whilst Korhon was ejected for Sheffield for abuse of the official.

Coach Tony Hand commented: "I thought the boys played a solid game tonight but we created plenty of chances as well. The interplay between Robin and Michal was exceptional, and it's great to see the imports gelling as line mates."

Phoenix host the Basingstoke Bison in Deeside next Sunday evening with a 6:30pm face-off.