Weldon quick to build on Phantoms’ first leg lead

Peterborough Phantoms continued their fantastic season last weekend by reaching the final of the NIHL Division One South play-offs.

They saw off Basingstoke – the side they also beat to lift the NIHL South Cup last month – 8-5 on aggregate.

Phantoms hit home ice for the second leg of the semi-final a goal up and they soon extended it thanks to a beautifully executed opener on the powerplay.

Slick passes from Ales Padelek and James Ferrara carved out the opportunity for Will Weldon to slot past Bison netminder Alex Mettam.

But Phantoms’ advantage on the night proved to be short-lived as George Norcliffe levelled when steering in an initial Russ Cowley effort.

Captain Ferrara missed a glorious chance to restore the city side’s advantage when left unattended at the back door, but they did hit the front again late in the opening session when defenceman Scott Robson seized on a loose puck to strike for the second successive night.

There was still time for both netminders to make smart saves before the buzzer and the action continued at pace in the second period with Bison player-coach Ashley Tait firing wide of a gaping net early on.

That golden chance arrived at the start of a spell of persistent pressure from the visitors which was broken when Padelek exquisitely created a third Phantoms goal for Ferrara.

The sides then traded goals towards the end of the middle stanza with Richard Bordowski punishing defensive sloppiness to briefly drag Basingstoke back into contention only for James White to produce a fine reply for Phantoms little more than a minute later.

It meant Koulikov’s men went into the final period with a three-goal cushion on aggregate and they never looked like surrendering it.

There were a few nervy moments late on after Bordowski had hit his second of the night but a late strike by Petr Stepanek sealed victory.