The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Phantoms play-off bid takes a big hit
PHANTOMS ........................3 GUILDFORD FLAMES .........5 English Premier League
A SEVERE bout of flu meant Chris Allen didn’t play against Guildford Flames on Saturday night.
The virus had laid Phantoms’ player/coach low for much of the week but the big Canadian will recover. Sadly the same may not be true for his team after another home defeat.
This was the third straight reverse at the Peterborough Arena for Phantoms and the situation is starting to look terminal for their hopes of making the English Premier League Play-offs.
But at least it was an improvement on last Sunday’s debacle when local rivals Milton Keynes Lightning subjected Phantoms to an humiliating 9-3 hammering.
Even without Allen, Phantoms were much better in every department and had things gone their way in the key moments against Guildford, the result could have been very different.
Unfortunately, as Allen explained after the game, things have rarely gone Phantoms’ way this season.
“To be honest anything was going to be better than what we produced against MK last weekend and I think we deserved more,” he said.
“The guys worked really hard but one or two mistakes cost us and generally the bounces just did not go our way. And that just seems to be the way it has been for us this season. We just seem to have had a lot of bad luck with injuries at the wrong times and everything else but we will keep battling to try and overcome those things.
“We showed that we can compete with the best team in this league and all we can do is keep showing that kind of effort and hopefully it will be enough over the next month.”
Still smarting from the Lightning game, it was always going to be a big ask for Phantoms to find redemption against a Flames outfit that had not tasted defeat for 13 games.
But after a bright beginning which saw Ondrej Lauko and James Ferrara force Mark Lee into fine early saves, Tom Carlon got things off to the perfect start when he fired them ahead inside the first five minutes.
At the other end Jozef Kohut looked the biggest threat for Guildford and just past the midway point of the first period the Slovak veteran tied the game after poking home from close range.
Seeking an immediate response Ferrara zipped a shot just wide but it was the Flames who struck next after a mistake by Richard Bentham.
To be fair Bentham had a good game in defence but a rare lapse allowed Milos Melicherik to pick out Rick Plant who buried his shot at the backpost.
It was a setback but one Phantoms soon recovered from, however, when Ferrara’s shot took a deflection past Lee in the opening seconds of the middle act.
Jeff Glowa then saw his pointblank effort blocked by Lee, one of the best players on the ice who deservedly went home with the man of the match honours.
Sadly the same cannot be said for Damien King who should have done far better with Nathan Rempel’s shot that snuck past his pads at the near post.
Minutes later Rempel gave King another scare by rattling his post but Phantoms survived and continued to chase the one-goal deficit with real energy and vigour. And when Robbie Brown struck in the 32nd minute it seemed the sides would head into the final period all square.
Unfortunately it was not to be. With just five seconds left Greg Ran- dall’s mind was clearly already in the dressing room when he decided to give Melicherik a clear run at goal and the veteran sniper made no mistake to restore the Guildford lead at the death.
It was a body blow to Phantoms and while Lauko, Glowa and Ziedins all went close to striking back early in the third, it was the Flames who scored what proved to be the final goal.
Having been pressed back into their own defensive zone, the visitors were cobra-like on the counter with Kohut ending a rapid raid by putting Greg Chambers through to score.
Unlike the week before, however, Phantoms never let their heads drop with man-of-the-match Carlon, Ziedins and Bentham all going close as the home side dominated the closing stages. It was not to be but Phantoms can take pride from the performance if not the result.