Janis in welcome return as Phantoms arrest the slump

When the going gets tough, the tough get going – and that’s exactly what Phantoms did last Sunday night.

They arrested their slump by overcoming the odds and the hottest team in the English Premier League to register a much-needed victory.

And it is probably no coincidence that it arrived on the night that talismanic netminder Janis Auzins returned to the ice.

The Latvian missed five games with a knee problem – a run in which Phantoms could only snatch one overtime success – but showed no ill effects with a stellar display.

And those in front of him weren’ t bad either as a depleted city side stifled the offensive power of their high-flying visitors through sheer hard graft from first puck-drop to final buzzer.

“It was very important to be able to call on Jan is against a team in Swindon who have so much offensive power,” said coach Slava Koulikov.

“He produced a huge performance, but I don’t want to single out individual after such a complete team display.”

Phantoms took to the ice without four players – Craig Wallis, Sam Towner and Connor Glossop, who were joined by import forward A les Pad elek due to a‘ slight’ injury – but that number increased when teenage defenceman Tom Stub leysuffe red ashoul- der injury after a hit in the second period.

By then, Phantoms were two goals to the good thanks to a couple of smart reactions to spills from Swindon netminder Stevie Lyle.

Owen Griffiths pounced to open the scoring with his second Phantoms goal–both of which have arrived against his former club – after a Ben Russell shot had caused problems for the visiting shotstopper.

And the advantage doubled when Griffiths forced a save and recent import recruit Wehebe Darge was on hand on gobble up therebound and claim a first home goal.

Swindon posed the greater threat in a blank second period as Phantom s were reliant on Auz ins to make a hattrick of super stops to deny Jonas Hoog.

Attheotherend, thehome side’s powerplay unit failed to make the most of a couple of five-on-three situations although it did take a terrific Lyle reaction to deny Darius Pliskauskas.

It looked as though the increasingly aggressive Wildcats were running out of ideas as they attempted to claw their way back into the game in the final session, but they halved their deficit with just under four minutes to go as Hoog found space to finish at the back post with the aid of a kiss off defence man Ben Russell’s skate.

That could so easily have been the trigger for a collapse from a depleted Phantoms side, who had thrown away a four-goal cushion in their previous homegame, but any tension that may have been apparent among supporters certainly didn’t spread onto the ice.

They were helped by Swindon defenceman Stevie Whitfield collecting a penalty within a minute of them cutting their arrears andjust as that numerical advantage ended, Phantoms made sure of victory with a clinching goal.

It could hardly have been more welcome for the goalscorer or his team as Pliskauskas snapped along drought with his second goal of the season when his effort deflected in off Wildcats man Neil Liddiard.