Perfect play-off start for Phantoms

Peterborough Phantoms enjoyed the perfect start to their National League playoff campaign with back-toback wins over the Bees.

The city side shrugged off the distraction of a lengthy ban for key forward Ralfs Circenis (see column right) to follow a 5-3 win in Slough on Saturday with a 4-1 success at Planet Ice the following night.

The Bees were expected to be the group whipping boys, but two wins is a confidence booster for Slava Koulikov’s men ahead of a much harder weekend to come.

Phantoms are at home to reigning champions Leeds Knight on Saturday (7pm face-off) and then travel to Yorkshire for an immediate re-match on Sunday (5.15pm).

Leeds also started the play-offs with two impressive wins (8-3 and 6-3) against Hull Seahawks.

Phantoms trailed 2-1 at the end of the first period of their opening fixture at Bees, butscoredthreeunanswered goals in the second period before effectively sealing the win 10 minutes from time.

The hosts rallied to pull a goal back in the final seconds.

Phantoms were boosted by the return to their line-up of Martins Susters and he delivered a man-of-the-match display which included a goal and two assists.

Lukas Sladkovsky cancelled out an early home goal on 7.24 and he also netted the equaliser early in the second period which started a Phantoms charge. Ivan BjörklyNordström also netted twice.

Björkly-Nordström broke the deadlock in the

home game with Bees in the 31st minute. The visitors promptly equalised, but Austin Mitchell-King fired Phantoms back in front and in command before the end of the second period.

Björkly-Nordström gave Slava Koulikov’s men the comfort of a two-goal cushion before Luke Ferrara bagged his first goal of the weekend with a late strike into an empty net after Bees had pulled their netminder.

Hull will be fancied to beat Bees twice this weekend and then it could be a decisive double header for Phantoms v the Seahawks on the weekend of April 20/21. Phantoms are in Hull on the Saturday before a clash at Planet Ice 24 hours later.

The play-off finals are in Coventry the following weekend.

Ivan Björkly-Nordström was in fine form for Phantoms last weekend.