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Phoenix pick up vital win in Basingstoke

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Manchester Phoenix won a crucial ‘four-pointer’ on Saturday night coming from behind to defeat Basingstoke on their own ice and leapfrog the Bison with four games in hand.

Phoenix took the lead late in the first period as player coach Rick Brebant and Mike Morin set up Dwight Parrish for an excellent wrist shot finish. Bison drew level early in the second period with Blake Sorensen netting the first of his personal brace before he put the home side ahead just 18 seconds into the third session. Phoenix though didn’t let their heads drop and David Kozier scored a brilliant equaliser superbly deflecting a Darcy Anderson pass past the Bison goalie on a powerplay before a thrilling game was settled by Phoenix captain George Awada scoring shorthanded, unselfishly set up by Chad Brandimore, with Rick Brebant in the penalty box.

The win lifted Phoenix to sixth in the Elite League table, one point behind the Cardiff Devils with two games in hand over the Welshmen and a point ahead of Basingstoke with four games in hand over them. Phoenix will hope to pile pressure on Cardiff if they can overcome the Nottingham Panthers on Wednesday.

Player/coach Rick Brebant commented, “this is a huge win for us and I felt we deserved it for a good all-round performance. Everyone turned up to play tonight and I was very encouraged with the effort and commitment from all the players. Jayme Platt had to make some big saves for us, but at the same time, we hit the post three times. We’ve taken nine points from a possible sixteen since the turn of the year which is encouraging, what we need now is to start securing more points from our home games with a great opportunity coming up on Wednesday.”