News

Phoenix dig deep for Cardiff point

Tweet

Missing four players last night, the Manchester Phoenix dug deep into their reserves of character to take a hard-fought point from a 1-1 tie in the Welsh National Ice Rink. Out shot and largely out chanced by the home side, Phoenix took great credit from the game with a battling defensive and counter-attacking performance that included head coach Rick Brebant playing his first game since November 4th and a stellar goaltending display by Jayme Platt.

After a scoreless first period, Darcy Anderson fired Phoenix ahead in the 29th minute with a wrist shot high into the net from 25 feet. Cardiff, visibly shaken by conceding the lead, hit back in the 33rd minute with Ed Patterson scoring with a rising shot from the right wing. The home side dominated the third period but couldn’t find a way past Jayme Platt who stayed in the game despite hurting a shoulder early in the session. Having secured a point for the regulation time tie, Phoenix had the better chances in the overtime period but Devils goalie Jason Cugnet denied them.

Phoenix bench coach on the night Mike Morin said, “That was a show of grit from the boys who deserved the point. Everyone worked their socks off and Jayme was just outstanding. We have to be happy taking a point tonight, though I guess Cardiff will consider it a point lost from their perspective.”

Head coach Rick Brebant commented, “Mike did a great job on the bench and everyone played hard. We tried to keep it simple and play to our strengths, and I thought we achieved that. The boys will take Friday off, we’ll train again on Saturday and be ready for London on Sunday.”