News

Battaglia boost for Phoenix

Tweet

Manchester Phoenix moved quickly earlier this week to bring in American forward Anthony Battaglia to replace the injured and de-registered Ales Parez.

With Parez not responding quickly enough to treatment on an injured shoulder Phoenix, with a heavier than normal fixture schedule, decided the only course of action was to try and find another player.

Anthony Battaglia had spent the season in the East Coast Hockey League with the Columbia Inferno, and was second in scoring for the club. But, with the Inferno out of playoff contention, Phoenix took the chance to contact him and he agreed to the trans-Atlantic move quickly.

"I got the first call on Sunday," noted the 27-year old from Chicago, "and then another call later that evening from Tony Hand He was very persuasive so I decided to join them. They told me to be ready to fly in a few days and I thought they'd try and get me here for the weekend. Then on Tuesday the GM called to say get in your car and get to the airport, you're flying tonight and we want you in the line-up tomorrow."

Phoenix processed the necessary paperwork and literally within an hour or so of getting off the plane, the six-foot, left shot winger had a loosening up skate on his new ice at the Altrincham Ice Dome.

"Wednesday nights game against Coventry was a bit of a blur for me," he smiled. "I felt tired not having slept on the plane and I guess it was the adrenalin of everything having happened so quickly that got me through it."

Player Profile

• Profile for Anthony Battaglia