Norton enjoying the high life ahead of Pirates clashes

Ice hockey - Player-coach proud of side’s climb up the table

Player-coach Tom Norton insists Phantoms can be proud of their recent NIHL National Division charge.

The city club reeled off four consecutive victories before being pipped on penalties by Telford last Sunday night.

Phantoms earlier produced a rousing comeback from 4-2 down in the closing stages of the third period with Norton hitting their equaliser with his first goal of the season.

“We can definitely hold our heads high at the moment,” said Norton.

“Nine points from the last five games is an excellent return and that’s well above the 75 per cent that we always aim to hit.

“There are going to be times during a long season when a team doesn’t perform at its very best and Sunday was one of those nights.

“But we still came out of it with a point against a good Telford team and just missed out on another one in the penalties which are always a coin toss.

“The shots haven’t really been coming off for me this season and it was getting a bit frustrating, so it was nice to get one right and hit the goal that tied the game for us.

“It’s great to see the powerplay is working well for us with eight goals over the weekend but we are having to kill far too many penalties and we’ve got to address our discipline.

“Having the special teams on the ice for so long puts a strain on players and that’s when injuries get picked up.”

Phantoms now take on Hull in home and away clashes this weekend with Norton predicting two difficult tasks.

The two sides meet at Planet Ice on Saturday (7pm) ahead of a Sunday return date in East Yorkshire (5.30pm).

The Pirates bounced back to form with a double-success last weekend after losing their previous four games. They also beat Phantoms twice in pre-season.

“We saw what Hull are about in those two Challenge games,” added Norton.

“They are a very skilled team and they are definitely going to be two tough games.

“It’s such a tight league that teams are going to take points off each other all season.

“They are important games as there are cup points up for grabs as well and we definitely want to progress in that competition.”

NIHL National Division

Tom Norton