Carlon makes the switch to the Lightning

The MK Lightning has confirmed the signing of British forward Tom Carlon for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons; as they continue to show their intent on challenging for EPL honours next season.

It is a great pick-up for Head Coach Nick Poole, as he adds the highly-rated forward to his British contingent. He said that the chance to sign Tom for the Lightning on a two year deal was an opportunity not to be missed. “I’ve spoken with Tom over the past few summers about him coming to play in MK, and I’m very pleased that we have finally captured his signature. He is a big strong player that I’ve admired since I saw him play junior hockey. Over the last few years he has gained confidence and become one of our league’s best British forwards.

“Tom is ambitious, he wants to win trophies and we know he’ll fit right in with our style of play. He’s a very good skater with an excellent shot and will immediately improve our offence, and he brings a lot of experience at international level and also from his time in the Elite league. His size and strength will add to our forecheck and he will be a real thorn in the side of opposition defences.”

Carlon makes the switch to MK for 2013-14.

Carlon makes the switch from the Lightning’s local rivals; the Peterborough Phantoms after three and a half seasons with the Cambridgeshire club.

The Telford born forward began his junior development with the Telford Wildfoxes aged 14 and began to progress through the clubs rankings, with his skill and ability earning him call ups to the Great Britain Under 18 and Under 20 selection between 2003 and 2005. He has captained the GB U18’s and has won several gold medals at international level.

Icing full-time for Telford, Tom also enjoyed guest appearances with the Coventry Blaze in the Elite League and was signed on a permanent basis in 2006; when the club took the League Championship.

In 2007 he made the switch back to the English Premier League and headed south to join the Bracknell Bees. 2008 marked a switch back to his home-town team; however with the Tigers unable to compete in 2009 due to financial reasons he made the switch to join the new league champions for his first spell with the Phantoms. After two seasons he made the switch to join the Jets, but financial difficulties saw him released mid-season and he made a return to the Phantoms.

Tom is very capable in the forward position and has good positioning and awareness on the ice. He is also able to score and will give the Lightning added fire power across their forward lines. However he is not a player that will score 50 goals a season and his abilities are utilised elsewhere. A player that is not afraid to put his body on the line or through a hit when needed; he is a great addition to Poole’s team.

He is coming off the back of his second best season in the EPL in terms of point production having scored 54pts from 21 goals and 33 assists. It will be interesting to see if Tom can once again be part of a championship winning side and what role he will play in MK depending on the further signings made by Poole.

MK Lightning Add 4 to their Brit Pack

The Milton Keynes Lightning have confirmed the return of four of their influential Brits for the 2013-14 season. Team Captain Adam Carr returns for an 11th straight season with the Lightning and is joined by fan’s favourite Leigh Jamieson, Lewis Christie and Michael Farn.

All four men signed two year contracts during the summer of 2012, something of an unknown in the English Premier League and will return for another season with the Lightning.

Carr joined the Lightning in 2003-04 following a season with the Isle of Wight Raiders, where he made is senior debut. Carr also made an appearance for the Basingstoke Bison in the EIHL in his first season; however apart from an overseas switch to the Sydney Icedogs in 2004-05 in the Australian Ice Hockey League, has remained a Lightning member for the remainder of his senior career. The centreman has been a consistent point scorer during his time with the Lightning; averaging around 40 points a season. It was no doubt that Carr would return for another season with MK. He is Lightning through-and-through and will likely end his career with them.

Leigh Jamieson makes a return to the Lightning for his 5th successive season after ending the season as the team’s leading point scorer. Jamieson is a quality player that can play either defence or offence. The past two seasons Leigh has stepped up and been an integral forward for the Lightning registering over 70 points each season.

His vast experience includes spells in the Elite League with the Belfast Giants and Coventry Blaze and he is a valuable asset to any team. He will once again be a vital piece in Head Coach Nick Poole’s plans for 2013-14.

Defenceman Michael Farn has continued to demonstrate his valued spot on the team with stella performances week in, week out; including the Man of the Match accolade at the recent Play-off Semi-final match against the Guildford Flames.

2013-14 will mark Farn’s 5th season with the Lightning having joined the club from the Swindon Wildcats at the end of 2008-09.

Fellow defenceman Christie will start is 6th consecutive season in 2013-14 having joined the club from the Giants in 2008. Despite his low scoring Christie goes about his job of defending and does it well as he is considered one of the better defenceman in the EPL. With Farn and Christie back again, Poole has a solid foundation to work from at the back and can positively build on them as he looks to develop a team capable of challenging at the top of the EPL.

Alongside the announcement that Blaz Emersic will return for a third season (Here), Poole has the makings of a good team once again. But will they be able to challenge the establishment at the top of the league.

Emersic back to strike with the Lightning

The Milton Keynes Lightning announced at their end of season awards night that Slovenian forward Blaz Emersic will be returning to the Lightning fold for a third straight season.

Blaz Emersic returns to the Lightning in 2013-14

 Emersic joined the Lightning in January 2011, following off-ice issues with the Slough Jets, and quickly became a fan favourite with his scoring ability registering 39 points in 28 games. He returned for 2011-12 and showed his vast experience and ability in front of net scoring 72 points from 34 goals. This past season he has once again been a consistent point scorer, coming second only to Leigh Jamieson for the season total, with 70 points overall.

Blaz is the kind of player that you know you can rely upon to put the puck in the back of the net, night in or night out, or be the set up guy. 103 assists over two and a half seasons shows that he is not afraid to be the set up guy.

Head coach Nick Poole said to the MK website; that signing Blaz was a statement of the club’s ambitions for next season.  “He is one of the first names on the team sheet each matchday – and the fact that his is the first signing we can announce gives an indication of how strong a team we want to put together for next year.  I’ve used the phrase before that he’s like a Rolls Royce, because his form is so consistent – and that is still true. 

“Blaz is a leader in our room with his professional approach to the game, and is a great role model for younger players.  Whenever I talk to the lads in the off season, the first question they always ask me is if Blaz is coming back – and that just shows how highly-regarded and respected he is by his peers.”

With Blaz taking up the first import slot on the team’s roster for next season it will be interesting to see if Poole re-signs this seasons imports, or goes for someone fresh next season.

Flames show their class against the Lightning!

With their sole match of the weekend, the Flames turned up to the Guildford Spectrum fresh faced on Sunday afternoon to face off against the MK Lightning. Two victories in the opening weekend saw the Flames sit at the top of the standings and they were looking to make it 3-out-of-3 in front of a bumper crowd. The Lightning travelled to Surrey having secured a shock victory against the Manchester Phoenix and looked to make it a double against the Flames. Shocking you may say; well when any team can fire 8 past the Phoenix, you start to question what the Manchester squad had for lunch that day.

Ref Matt Thompson was giving his arm a proper work out during the game and it was first raised at 7:53 when Savage was called for slashing; having retaliated for a late hit along the boards. However Michael Farn was called for interference less than a minute later to put the game 4-0n-4. It then took just 14 seconds before the Flames found the net, a great effort by Kohut to find the way past Mettam.

With the Flames working well and the game flowing nicely, they were gifted their first powerplay of the game at 14:49 when Lewis Christie was called for high sticks. The powerplay unit went to work and Ben Campbell found the net at 16:18 assisted by Longstaff and Kvetan to give a two goal lead. Less than a minute later and the Flames were on the back foot once more with Kvetan called for roughing. With all the chirpiness and digs aimed at Branislav during the first period it was only a matter of time before he stuck back. The penalty kill team were on top form and were able to see out the period holding on to the 2 goal lead.

Kvetan takes exception to a late hit.

The Flames started the second period in penalty trouble when Kvetan was called for 2+2. Having circled around the net Kvetan checked Adam Carr into the side boards. However player/coach Nick Poole didn’t like the hit the big Slovakian gave and jumped in with a late hit of his own. The ensuring disagreement between the two players saw Kvetan called for the initial high sticks (however I did not see his stick raised when he gave the hit) and received a further 2 minutes for roughing. Poole got off lightly in terms of penalty infringement and a beating by Brani and sat out the 2 minutes for roughing.

They faced further trouble when two minutes later Kohut was called for a curious 2+10 minute misconduct for checking to the head. Despite the man advantage the Lightning could not make the most of their opportunity and it was Huppe that jumped on a loose puck at the edge of the zone and skated in alone on Mettam; firing hire for a short-handed goal to give the Flames a 3 goal lead.

The Lightning were clearly looking frustrated at their performance and the sloppy play continued. Leigh Jamieson was called for a clear slashing penalty at 28:13 to give the Flames their second powerplay of the evening. Milos then found himself of the end of Thompson’s disapproval firstly being called for hooking at 32:49 and then again for slashing at 38:46. However in between Milos’ visits to the box, Ben Campbell was able to bag his second goal of the game unassisted at 35:37 to give the home-side a commanding 4-0 lead to take into the third stanza.

Campbell bagged 2 goals and an assist against the Lightning.

The third period started as the second ended, with the Flames dominating possession in the Lightning’s zone. At 42:13 Mettam was called for slashing, a strange call to see made, but obvious to Thompson all the same.

Just 4 seconds after the powerplay expired Kvetan fired a shot from range to give the Flames a 5-0 lead with 16 minutes still to play. The Flames then found themselves on the back foot once more with three penalty calls in quick succession. Firstly Skene was called for tripping at 44:55, then Milos for high-sticks at 45:12, lastly Lundin was called for slashing at 46:55. This gave the Lightning a 5-on-3 advantage for over 2 minutes, and making the most of the extra skater, Blaz Emersic got a goal back at 47:17. Adam Carr bagged a second marker at 49:54 to bring the score to 5-2.

Just over 2 minutes had been played when the ice was dipped in darkness thanks to a lighting failure. The players returned to their respective benches while the issue was sorted however quickly returned to the changing rooms when rink staff notified that a surge in power tripped the lights; resulting in a length delay for the re-start. Approximately 20 minutes later the lights fired into action and the players returned to the ice to see out the final 10 minutes of the game.

Having got two goals in quick succession before the lighting failure the Lightning came out and looked rather subdued. They never looked eager to get the loose pucks or to make a play from the neutral zone. This worked against them and further still when Zatopek was called for holding at 13:33. With the Flames unable to convert the powerplay opportunity they were gifted a second with less than two minutes remaining when Ross Green took a seat for interference.

Able to hold out despite attack after attack from the Flames forwards the Lightning were granted no further embarrassment. Man of the matches were Kvetan for the Flames and Christie for the Lightning.
After Campbell’s 3 point display many were surprised by the choice; however Kvetan’s stone wall was an element that allowed Lee to almost record his first shut-out of the season. 5-0 with less than a period remaining it looked good but the Lightning just managed to find a way back into the game for about 2 minutes. Maybe the MOM was awarded for Kvetan being able to keep it cool under such targeted hits and aggression from the Lightning team.

Summary – with news floating down to the Flames’ faithful the previous evening of the demolition of the Phoenix in MK many were hoping for a very challenging game. What was delivered and seen by over 1800 fans was far from that. Whether MK had run out of steam having played out of their skins against Manchester the previous night or whether they just weren’t up for it; only they will know. In certain parts of the game they were non existent in a rather dominant display by the defending champions.

Campbell has definitely stepped up his game, which many hoped he would, with the departure of Towe. Longstaff seems to have shaken off any summer-blues and is back to his best. His puck handling and ability to read the game paying dividends for his line. Leading the points for the team with 8 shows he can still cut it at this level.

It was interesting to see Milos given a run out against the Lightning rather than playing with Rempel; who had two weeks games under his belt. Whether he was carrying a minor injury or it was Milos’ opportunity to build up to his required number of games for play-off activation we don’t know. He seemed rather rusty in the first period but as the game grew older he was chasing the loose pucks and was creating plenty of chances alongside Kohut.

Huppe and Kohut seem to be in a groove of pure ability and skill at present. Indeed  7 points apiece after just 3 games is a good showing from two of your import forwards. Rempel is also right in there with 5 points from 2 games and I am sure there is plenty more to come from the three of them.

Plant/Potts/Hemmings/Sharp – all seem to be doing the job asked of them. Potts looked like a little jack russell puppy on Sunday, constantly chasing after the puck carrier and causing issues for the Lightning going forward. Hemmings seems to have rightly earned his place on the 2nd line at present. He is throwing some good hits and is connecting well with Longstaff.

Our defence seems to be solid so far and there aren’t many complaints about any of them. Jez and Kvetan seem to be the stand out players so far; but the other 4 are all putting in good performances at this early stage.

Top of the league with a game in hand after only the second week is definitely what we wanted to see the Flames come out and do!!

Play-off Semi Final – what’s in store?

So after what can only be described as a nerve racking play-off quarter final against the Peterborough Phantoms, the Flames showed their quality in the end, to advance to the semi-finals at Coventry this weekend.

So the question now is; what’s in store for our double champs when they arrive at the Skydome arena on Saturday.

Well firstly congratulations must be made to the Slough Jets, after a more intense quarter final than ours, against the MK Lightning; they have reached Coventry after a one year absence. A 21 goal thriller over both legs showed that both teams were desperate to advance to the semi-finals; however it was the Jets that just had that little extra in the end.

And now a little more about our opponents. It has been quite an even season where the Jets are concerned. The league series ended at 3 games a piece; with each side taking two victories at home and one away.Only two other teams levelled the league series with the Flames; who were the Lightning and Basingstoke Bison.

22.10.11 – Slough 4-1 Flames

20.11.11 – Flames 4-1 Jets

15.01.12 – Flames 3-4 Jets

04.02.12 – Jets 4-5 Flames (OT)

10.03.12 – Jets 5-2 Flames

11.03.12 – Flames 4-1 Jets

Both teams were fairly equal in terms of scoring ability and defence; with 19 goals a piece over the six games played. It was the closest series of all 9 opponents the Flames faced this season and the lowest total goals scored against another team.

The last time these two sides met in a play-off situation was during the 2009/10 play-off final in which the Jets took a 2-1 win. They will surely be looking to do the same again on Saturday and fly off into the final to face either the Manchester Phoenix or the Sheffield Steeldogs.

They certainly have depth throughout their roster to make sure it is a memorable game for all the fans. Indeed they have two skilful forwards in the top 10 EPL goal scorers for this season; in the form of Darius Pliskauskas (46) and Adam Calder (39).  However they also have other players that can hit the net just as easily (Doug Sheppard & Joe Greener) and with scoring ability across the top two lines will surely be a match for the Flames.

Now looking a little closer to home at our scoring possibilities. Since his return to a Flames jersey in February Jozef Kohut has been one of the leading goal scorers, with 23 goals in 21 games played, and we will surely be looking to him to provided the much needed fire power on Saturday. However with three solid lines with proven goal scorers the Flames have more ability to hit the net on any particular shift than it would appear the Jets do. With Huppe returning from injury it appears he has not lost his scoring touch with 4 goals from 4 games; to finish the season.

Kohut has been the stand out scorer since his return in February

Rempel also appears to have continued his form shown in 2010/11 and has hit the net 45 times in 51 games. But who can forget that we also have Longstaff, Towe, Plant, Campbell and of course the god that he is and our very own Melicherik, who have consistently hit the net throughout the season.

However ice hockey is a team sport and you are only as strong and dominant as the players around you.

Going into the play-offs, Slough were the form team of the two (but only slightly) having won 6 of their last 10 matches; where as the Flames have only won 5 of the last 10. Looking at the goals for/against for those 10 matches however does not paint as clear a picture than win/loss stats.

The Flames are 36-35 and the Jets are 38-29. This shows that although the Jets did not concede as many goals and were able to outscore their rivals by 9; for every goal the Flames let in they scored one to answer it.

In terms of netminding; neither Greg Rockman for the Jets or Mark Lee for the Flames have matched the stats put up by Sheffield’s Ben Bowns who has lead the league’s netminders with a goals against average (GAA) of 2.40 and save percentage (SV) of 92.99%.

Rockman is the better of the two semi-final netminders, but only by small margins, and currently sits 4th in the top ten with GAA 3.07 and SV 91.68%. Lee is 6th of the top ten with a GAA of 2.68 and SV 91.35%

However this does not show through when looking at the goals for/against for each team over the 54 league games.

The Jets are 228 GF and175 GA for a difference of 53 goals; whilst the Flames are 242 GF and 158 GA the difference 84 goals.

So not only did the Flames out score the Jets by 14 goals they also conceded 17 less over the duration of the season which is ultimately the difference between league champions and 4th place in the standings.

Lee has been a key player for the Flames this season

Greg Rockman is 4th in the top 10 EPL netminders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The difficulty for the Flames however will be who does Dixon decide will hit the ice on Saturday afternoon. With a fresh and injury free quota of imports (except Kvetan), who all have their own strengths and individual abilities they bring to the game, it is not going to be an easy choice.

High on the list however you’d expect to see Kohut and Rempel, their ability to find the smallest of gaps from which they can score, is an atribute that will be needed against the Jets.

The remaining choice between Huppe, Chambers and Milos, for the final two spots, is where I do not envy being in Dixon’s position. Many would immediately say that Chambers should be left out of the line-out, and looking at scoring ability over the season between the three players, it could be a justified argument. Chambers has 15 goals and 28 assists from 45 games. Huppe has 29 goals and 25 assists from 35 games and Milos; 20 goals and 44 assist from 42 games. Chambers has the least points total from the most games played of all three players.

However he has more than stated his worth, whilst covering Kvetan’s absence on the defensive lines, and in my opinion would be a much needed asset if we have a hope of stopping the Jets forwards from running wild on Lee.

Well that’s three of the four imports sorted (in some respects); so who takes the remaining position?

Again in my opinion I would take Milos and leave Huppe out. Curtis is a great player and goal scorer; however I do not think he has reached the match-fitness he showed before his injury. He is a player I would love to see back next season, however for this weekend I would love to see the talisman take to the ice.

Will Milos feature in the semi-final line up.

Milos’ cool headed approach and nature when in difficult situations, especially when just 60 minutes lies between final glory or an early shower, I think it would be a mistake to leave him out of the line-out. His experience of play-off hockey will no doubt shine through and may give the Flames the added benefit and advantage over the Jets.

Either way it is going to be one hell of a game and you’ll be a fool to miss it. Puck drops at 3pm on Saturday afternoon; before the Phoenix take on their close rivals the Steeldogs at 7pm.

Flames Crowned EPL League Champions

The Guildford Flames were crowned the EPL (English Premier League) League Champions on Sunday with an emphatic 4-3 overtime win against the visiting Basingstoke Bison.

However it was not all plain sailing for the Surrey squad as they faced a challenging test on Saturday evening travelling north up the M1 to face the Milton Keynes Lightning.

Going into the weekend the Flames were 6 points clear of second placed Manchester Phoenix and were looking to extend that advantage further. Indeed with the Phoenix losing 2-1 in Sheffield the Flames could have extended their lead atop of the standings.

It was not the best road performance the Flames have given this season however with their only goal of the game coming within the final 5 minutes. After a tense opening period the teams went into the break level at 0-0 with neither side able to find the net.

Jamie Line opened the scoring for the home-side in the 27th minute; assisted by the import pairing of Lukas Zatopek and Tuomas Tikkanen. With just 28 seconds of the period remaining Matt Towalski extended the home-side’s lead to two; as the Flames went into the period break questioning why they were behind.

With just 20 minutes to play and a two goal lead to wash out, the Flames went on the attack, but it was to no avail as Blaz Emersic added a third marker in the 51st minute. Ben Campbell ensured the Flames would go home with a consolation goal and denied Lightning netminder Barry Hollyhead of a shut-out, with the goal coming with just 4:41 left on the clock.

Ben Campbell scored the only Flames goal on Saturday night.

Looking to put the previous night behind them the Flames stepped out onto the ice in front of over 1400 fans at the Guildford Spectrum; knowing that if the Slough Jets could record a win against the Phoenix and they could put down the Bison they would be league champions.

They got off to a better start than the previous night in MK and were the first to score. With Nicky Chinn called for an interference minor, Matt Towe took just 34 seconds of the powerplay advantage to register his 11th goal of the season; putting the home-side 1-0 up inside 7 minutes.

But the Bison responded with their own man advantage strike, Daniel Volrab finding the net from Steve Moria and Joe Miller in the 12th minute to level the scores. It was then player/coach Moria that gifted his side the lead before the first period break; firing home a Viktor Kubenko pass with just minutes left to play.

With the teams emerging for the second period the Flames looked hungry to level the scores and keep their hopes of success alive. The Flames were gifted an early opportunity when referee Tim Pickett pointed to the spot signalling a penalty shot. Stepping up to the mark was Canadian sniper Nathan Rempel; however Stephen Wall was a match for the effort and kept the Bison’s lead at one.

However minutes later and the Flames were celebrating the equalising goal. Late season addition Jozef Kohut; picking up his 18th strike in 17 games to make it 2-2 to end the second period.

With the Slough v Manchester game starting before the Flames hit the ice for the opening period, they knew that they had lost 5-2 and so if they could overcome the Bison after the final 20 minutes they would be league champs.

Starting on equal terms it was the home-side to gain the early advantage, Stuart Potts finding the net from Campbell and Andrew Hemmings in the 47th minute. Hoping to run the clock out for the remainder of the period; the Flames held back just slightly allowing the Bison to keep up their pressure and they were rewarded with a late equaliser from Kubenko with just over 3 minutes left to play, sending the game into overtime.

Lundin’s overtime goal gifted the Flames the league title

Knowing it was make or break the Flames came out charging at the drop of the puck for the start of the extra 5 minute session. Rick Plant picked up the puck and moved into the offensive zone, making space he fed the puck to Jez Lundin whose wrist shot floated in past Wall after just 31 seconds of play. The goal handed the Flames their 35th win of the season and also their 5th league title since joining the EPL.

Paul Dixon reflected on the season and the first trophy, “We have come up big, time and time again.  On most occasions we have risen to the challenge. Winning in overtime after giving up a disappointing, deflating late tying goal has been typical of how we have done things, so it is fitting that is how we finally secured the trophy.

“We have believed all year no matter what the circumstances, and we have won many games we looked completely out of at one stage or another.  The guys deserve so much credit for really making something happen for themselves on a night in, night out basis.  We have a lot of talent but this has been much more than the sum of that ability. Guys have really sacrificed for the good of a unit and we have been rewarded with the prize for that contribution.

“It is unquestionably a proud moment for all of us, but I don’t want to miss the opportunity to say how proud I am of what every guy has done all season long to bring us to this moment. They deserve every bit of recognition they get for what they have achieved.  Having said all that, we are not done yet.   It is a special team and we hope we can make it that bit more special by winning next week’s cup final and then looking ahead to the playoff championship”

With just 4 games remaining of the season and with a 8 point advantage over second place Manchester Phoenix the Flames cannot be caught and so the title is there’s. The Phoenix however now sit just 2 points clear of third place Slough and will be looking to keep their momentum up going into the final stage of the season.

On reflection of the Flames’ opponents the victory was vital for MK on Saturday to keep them in touch with the the Steeldogs in 4th place. While the Bison remaining in 6th place; however after only collecting one point from the weekend they are being chased by the Swindon Wildcats in 7th place who are now just one point behind after an impressive 3 wins out of 3 games this past weekend.

The Flames are next in action on Saturday 24 March at home to the Bracknell Bees, before making the trip to face the Manchester Phoenix on Sunday.

They will then have a 2 day break before taking on the Sheffield Steeldogs in the second leg of the EPL Cup Final; in which they have a 6-3 advantage, and will be hoping to make it double honours with the league title.

Flames to meet Steeldogs in Cup Final

So after four tight and intense match-ups the final is set; the Guildford Flames will meet the Sheffield Steeldogs in the English Premier League Cup Final for 2012.

It will be the Flames third Cup Final appearance in the last 5 seasons. They last took the honours in 2009/10 beating the MK Lightning 10-4 (on aggregate). It will be the Steeldogs’ first appearance in the Cup Final and will be an opportunity player/coach Andre Payette will not wish to pass up; in only his second season in the steel city.

So lets see how each team progressed to the final. So after the 18 league/cup matches Guildford sat on top of the 4 team group with 26 points. Milton Keynes was second with 25 points and Sheffield third with 23 points. Bringing up the rear was Manchester with 22 points.

This resulted in a Guildford v Manchester and Sheffield v Milton Keynes semi-final match-up.

The Steeldogs and Lightning were first up; with leg one played out of the formidable Ice Sheffield Arena on 08 February.

It was a tightly contested first leg between the Steeldogs and Lightning and after 60 minutes the home-side held the advantage with a 1-0 win.

A week later and the two sides meet once again for mid-week cup action, on 16 February. In an even tighter contested battle the scores were level after three periods of play. The end result that the Steeldogs would advance to the final.

With one final slot filled, it was time for the Flames and Phoenix to go to battle. The first leg was held in Manchester on 18 February in front of a packed Altrincham Ice Dome. As proven in the two other semi-final matches it was a closely contested game between the two rivals.

At the end of 20 minutes the teams were level, with some end to end play, but the deadlock was broken midway through the second period when new import Jozef Kohut slide the puck in for a 1-0 advantage after 40 minutes.

Phoenix came out determined in the third period and got an equalising goal inside 4 minutes from James Archer. The Flames were playing a well drilled defensive game and took their opportunities to break; leading to a David Longstaff goal to take the lead once more. But the Phoenix held on and snatched a late equaliser with Ciaran Long scoring in the 53rd minute. With no further scoring the 2-2 score line set up an epic finale when the teams met for the second leg.

Just four days later on 22 February and the teams were facing off once more, this time at the Guildford Spectrum. With the game being one of Guildford’s “kids go free” specials, a capacity crowd were in for a spectacular game.

Despite four powerplay opportunities in the first period the home-side could not take advantage and the scores remained level after 20 minutes. The game did fire into action however just 2 minutes inside the second period; when Ben Campbell fired the puck home to give the Flames the lead.

The Phoenix immediately went on the attack and less than a minute later the scores were back level; Slava Koulikov beating Mark Lee to make it 1-1 (3-3 on aggregate).

Koulikov v Lee

The Phoenix then took the lead just over 2 minutes later with sustained pressure on the Flames, Ryan Johnson the scorer.

The Flames did not back off and the scores were all square once more, with Longstaff firing in the equaliser before the end of the second period.

With it all to play for with just 20 minutes remaining and the scores level at 4-4 on aggregate it was a David Savage strike on the powerplay that would seal victory for the Flames and promote them into the Final against Sheffield.

The Flames will travel to Sheffield for leg one of the Final on 13 March, before the return fixture at the Guildford Spectrum on 28 March. Once again the Flames are offering the match as a “kids go free” special offer and should result in a sell out crowd.