|
|
|
|
|
|
MANCHESTER, UK - BATTLING Manchester Phoenix fought back to secure a dramatic 5-4 penalty shot win over Sheffield Steeldogs on Tuesday. Led by Slava Koulikov, they cancelled out a two-goal deficit to beat their Yorkshire rivals and climb up to fourth in the English Premier League. The 31-year-old bagged a goal and an assist, as well as the winning penalty shot, as Phoenix clocked their second win in a row. Although Manchester were bolstered by the return of forward Stephen Wallace from a broken wrist, he could only sit and watch as Sheffield raced to a two-goal lead within 12 minutes. Ashley Calvert got the first after just two minutes before Edgars Bebris doubled the advantage. It could have been worse as the Steeldogs spurned two powerplay opportunities to increase their lead. But Phoenix stuck at their task and began to outwork their opponents – making it a one-goal game when Martin Cingel blasted home on the powerplay. Sheffield restored their two-goal lead on 26 minutes through Stuart Brittle only for Koulikov to score thanks to superb work from Juraj Faith. Brittle added his second on 36 minutes, before Phoenix turned the game on its head. Firstly, Ciaran Long stuffed home a rebound off Koulikov's shot then Wallace capped his return with a sweet flick of the wrist from the right circle. The third period saw both teams go close and waste powerplay opportunities whilst Sheffield's Pavel Gomeniuk, who used to play for Phoenix, was ejected for Boarding. The game was tied 4-4 at the end of regulation but in Overtime Manchester displayed enough intensity to show they will not be giving up their EPL crown without a fight. They lost Faith to Hooking and then were penalised further for having too many non-British players on the ice. But Sheffield couldn't find a way past Stephen Fone on the resultant two-man advantage and the game went to penalty shots. And it was left to Koulikov and Faith to slot home before Fone saved Bebris' low effort to take two points. Phoenix are next in action this Friday when they travel to Milton Keynes. Phoenix coach Tony Hand said: “If you want to beat Sheffield you have to work extremely hard because they are a tough, skilful, industrious side and they can never be underestimated. “But we kept our heads up tonight, we battled back when things looked bleak and we got the win we deserved. That shows the character we have in this locker room. “The guys are fighting back and the confidence is growing.” To contact the author email: Mike.Appleton@prohockeynews.com © Copyright 2011 by Prohockeynews.com Top of Page |
|
 |
