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MANCHESTER, UK - MANCHESTER Phoenix ground out a 3-0 win over Sheffield Steeldogs last night. Lucky deflections gave Tom Duggan and Ciaran Long goals before Slava Koulikov wrapped it up nine minutes from time. Two turgid periods of hockey brought a number of good saves from both netminders but little in the way of goalmouth action. Martin Cingel had chances late in the first period to put Manchester ahead but Ben Bowns was in imperious form. A sloppy game became worse in the second as the officials stopped the clock on a number of occasions to warn both sides about face-off infractions. It infuriated the crowd and broke up the flow of a fierce rivalry that has delivered several classics over the years. And it continued in the third as Sheffield's physical style brought Phoenix' fifth ineffectual powerplay alongside more stoppages. But the deadlock was broken in the 43rd minute as an innocuous backhanded shot from Duggan somehow rebounded off Bowns' pads for the opener. Six minutes later Steeldogs' netminder pulled off a great save from Long only for the follow up shot to cannon up off his glove and off the crossbar into the goal. Bowns couldn't do much about the third though as Koulikov pounced on a loose puck and smashed low to make it 3-0 – a scoreline that flattered the home side. The result puts Manchester second in the English Premier League, four points behind Guilford having played two games more. They travel to Bracknell on Saturday. Meanwhile, their EPL Semi Final Cup dates with Guildford Flames have been set. The first leg will take place on Saturday February 18 in Manchester (6pm) before a midweek trip to Surrey on Wednesday February 22 (8pm). To contact the author email: Mike.Appleton@prohockeynews.com © Copyright 2012 by Prohockeynews.com Top of Page |
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