Peterborough Phantoms 5 - 2 Manchester Mayhem
Sunday evening saw the Manchester Mayhem going down 5-2 to the Peterborough Phantoms in yet another thrilling contest, as it was a ‘game of three halves’ so to speak. It saw a battling display from the North West side, in which they clawed their way back from 3-0 down in the first to end the second period trailing 3-2. Despite a spirited performance, the league leaders would prove too much with Gary Farmer netting twice in the third to help the Phantoms in maintaining their 100% record in the British Para Ice Hockey League this season.
The start of the opening period saw both teams being a bit cautious for the first couple of minutes, but it soon saw the hosts taking the game by the scruff of the neck where it saw the Phantoms taking the lead thanks to a nice bit of play from Stacey Quirk, as she found Gary Farmer at the front of the net to fire under Darren Pomfret for 1-0 with 4.52 played. Manchester found themselves under a lot of pressure in the first, and that constant pressure told when Farmer added a second for Peterborough at 8.09 to make it 2-0, with the goal being their wake up call. While the visitors began to put some passes together, trying to create chances within the offensive zone was proving hard to do so. Prior to the end of the 1st, it saw Jamie Hutchcraft firing in a third with a shot over the high glove of the goalie for 3-0, and saw them good for that lead.
There were a lot of similarities with this game and the one up in Widnes, as while Manchester battled and toiled in attack, it saw the Phantoms capitalising with clinical finishing and this was looking to play to that same record. As play moved to the middle stanza, it saw the Mayhem having the better of the play and leaned on their own GB star in Karl Nicholson to take up the challenge and bring his side back into the game, as he got them on the board with a shot at 19.16 that beat Dan Lee for 3-1. Manchester’s netminder in Darren Pomfret then pulled off a few good stops up ice, as it seemed that every save became a confidence booster to his side and saw them gaining more belief when in attack. Defensively, they were doing a great job to limit the shots and attacks coming from the home side, as in the final minute of play it saw great pressure coming from both Felicity Gregory and Daniel Hartshorn, as Gregory continued to press in the offensive zone and result in Karl Nicholson stealing possession and making it a one goal game at 3-2.
After a long break between periods due to an ice cut, it saw the momentum that Manchester had kind of being negated with the extended delay, as that played perfectly into the hands of the Phantoms who settled after an indifferent period. When play resumed it saw Peterborough reasserting their dominance with a strong third period performance led by that man Gary Farmer, as the GB International would net two further goals and be the defining factor in this contest. Manchester stayed in the contest and just couldn't find a third goal, but when all said and done the the league leaders' took victory and saw their talisman proving to be too hot to handle. The scoreline itself is a bit harsh on the Mayhem, as it wasn’t a three goal game with just execution being the difference.
Manchester will look to bounce back next Sunday when they entertain the Sheffield Steel Kings in the return fixture from a few weeks ago at Widnes, as the previous meeting saw Sheffield run out 5-1 winners on home ice.