The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Superb win sets up a tilt at another title challenger
Ice Hockey - Four victories in a row for Phantoms
A superb win at title fancies Telford Tigers last Sunday has set Peterborough Phantoms up perfectly for a tilt at another top spot contender in MK Lightning on Saturday.
The 6-2 success at a Telford team who started the weekend on top of the National League standings was a fourth in a row for the city side.
They’ve climbed the table quickly to fifth as a result and now fourth place is in their sights.
Phantoms also scrapped their way to a 6-3 win over Bees at Planet ice on Saturday.
They follow this Saturday’s trip to MK (7pm face off )with a home game against Basingstoke on Sunday (5.30pm).
Phantoms head coach Slava Koulikov said: “Last weekend was another brilliant one for us.
“Saturday night was a bit of a battle and we probably made it harder for ourselves than we needed to. Although we were 3-0 up, we weren’t quite at the level we wanted to be at and Bees are a team who will always play for the full 60 whether they’re winning or losing. They battled back, but our fourth goal near the end of the second period was huge for us and it allowed us to play the third period with confidence.
“Telford is a hard place to go as they’ve got a good team and a good coach, so it’s never easy to go there and win. But we set out a game plan for the guys and they executed it really well. Our compete level was where it needed to be and we showed real quality with the goals we scored to get the two points.
“MK on Saturday will be another tough one, but it’s been great to get a few guys back into the lineup and we’re hoping to get at least one more back into the team for the weekend.
“We were good in spells last time we went to MK, so we just need to make sure we play a full 60-minute game and do the good things more consistently.
“If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance of getting the two points.
“Our games against Basingstoke are always a battle. They’re another team who play for the full 60 minutes no matter what, and no game is ever easy against them.
“We have to make sure we play a full 60-minute game ourselves and execute the gameplan. And we know if we do that, with the support of our fans, we’ll have a chance at another good weekend.”
• Strapping Czech Petr
Stepanek has returned to play for Phantoms. Forward Stepanek first joined Phantoms in 2016 and returned for a second spell in 2018.