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Four point weekend as Phoenix crush Bison

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Manchester Phoenix buried their home game hoodoo against Basingstoke on Sunday night with an emphatic 6-0 mauling of the Hampshire outfit.

Coach Paul Heavey implored his charges to complete a four-point haul from the three game weekend and the team responded with an avalanche of goals. Mark Bultje set the Phoenix on their way in the 8th minute and by the second interval Rick Brebant and Mika Skytta, on a powerplay, had made it three-nil. Determined to protect the lead, Phoenix secured the result with Mike Morin’s powerplay goal in the 42nd minute before Skytta notched his second with a delightful backhand wraparound finish. David Kozier added a powerplay sixth marker and strong defence protected netminder Jayme Platt’s shutout.

Paul Heavey noted, “We have to be very happy with the points we’ve gained this weekend. Before the games, Rick and I set the team certain goals and we’ve surpassed them a little bit. Very pleased with the commitment the guys have shown and I’m delighted for them – they’ve shown what they can do. Having Rick on the ice and playing in his natural centre position is such an asset to the team, he reads the game so well and he’ll do anything to win, and you just hope that the tenacity and desire he shows rubs off on the rest of the guys.”

He continued, “The boys get a couple of days off now to rest up, we have a couple of guys in the room who maybe should not have played tonight, but they showed great heart. We’ve got another three tough games coming up starting in Cardiff, but if we continue to play as we have this weekend, we should secure that playoff berth.”