Bison’s Owen calls it a day

Greg Owen retires from ice hockey after 12 seasons.

Basingstoke Bison’s British star, Greg Owen, has announced his retirement from professional ice hockey, just over a week after the conclusion 2012-13 EPL season.

The 31 year old centre, is currently with the national squad ahead of their Division 1A World Championship in Hungary this coming week, however has advised that following the completion of the tournament on 20th April he will be hanging the skates up for good.

Owen got his first taste of ice hockey in 1996-97 icing for the Oxford City Stars in the English Division 1 for only 3 games. Over the next 4 years Owen represented both the GB under 18 and under 20 sides in the World Junior Championships; whilst also registered with the Notre Dame Hounds in the Junior A Saskatchewan Junior Ice Hockey League.

2001-02 saw Owen ice in his first full season for the Hounds, registering 70 points from 63 appearances. The following season saw a return to British shores when he joined the Bracknell Bees in the Ice Hockey Superleague. He split his time between the Bees and Milton Keynes Lightning in the 3rd tier English Premier League. Owen went on to score 63 points from 40 goals and 23 assists during 36 games for the Lightning whilst also helping them to capture the play-off title.

2003-04 saw a return to the Bees in the newly formed British National League (BNL). Owen went on to win the double with the Bees in 2004-05 as they claimed the BNL title and the Challenge Cup in only their second season in the league.

The 2005-06 season marked the first appearance that Owen would make for the Basingstoke Bison, during two separate spells with the Hampshire squad, having been signed from the champions by coach Mark Bernard. With Bernard’s departure in 2006, current Player/Coach Doug Sheppard took over the helm and with Owen back for a second season he formed the infamous partnership with line mates Brad Cruickshank and Greg Chambers. As part of the “Bison Line” Owen went on to have a break-out year in senior hockey scoring 54 points from 53 starts.

Despite the departure of Sheppard, following the appointment of Ryan Aldridge as player/coach of the Bison, Owen returned to the Herd for a third season in 07-08, registering almost a point per game as he racked up 52 points in 54 appearances.

France came a-calling in 2008 as Owen made his first move abroad since his early career to join Briançon in the French Ligue Magnus. A more competitive league than the EIHL saw Owen score just 21 points during the 25 starts. He was also called up to represent GB during their 2010 pre-Olympic qualifying rounds in Poland. However GB finished 3rd in their group and missed out on qualifying for the final Winter Olympic selection.

A year later marked the return back to the UK and the EIHL as Owen joined the Coventry Blaze. He was reunited with former line-mate Chambers and with Head Coach Paul Thompson adding Cruickshank at the 2010 trade deadline, the former “Bison Line” was once again together however this time causing terror for the Blaze. The Blaze tasted success with the capture of the EIHL league title and Owen’s first title in the top flight league.

Despite returning for a further two seasons with the Blaze, they could not reach the same heights as in previous years, and following the conclusion of the 2011-12 season he announced that he would prefer to move closer to home (Reading); sparking a many rumours as to his intended destination.

With Sheppard returning to lead the Bison for the 2012-13 season, he looked to put a competitive team together to launch a full challenge in the EPL. Turning to previous team-mates Sheppard announced that former Bison and 06-7 team-mate, Owen had signed for the season ahead alongside his former line-mate Chambers.

Sheppard lead the Bison to their best ever league finish in the EPL with 2nd and also taking them to their first play-off finals weekend, reaching the semi-finals where they lost to eventual winners Manchester.

Having assembled a competitive team, Sheppard would have surely been hoping to keep the core of his players for the next season, with Owen being one of huge experience and influential to their title challenge.

The loss for the Bison will prove a huge void to fill ahead of the 2013-14 EPL season with Owen still one of the top Brit centres in both the EPL and EIHL. Many expected him to be re-signed by Sheppard for a further season as they continue to lead the Herd charge back to success; however you cannot fault or be angry against a guy that wants to give up a huge part of his life and passion for his family.

Owen is one of those players that can frustrate the hell out of an opposition. He plays a clean, fast and clinical game on the ice. He can create plays and act as a set-up man which was evident during the seasons he spent alongside Cruickshank and Chambers; but he can also hit the net himself when required. His first season in the EPL saw him amass a season high points total from 30 goals and 37 assists for 67 points. He was the second highest point scorer for the Bison, behind only Chambers; and he was also 6th highest British point scorer for the whole league.

Owen played with a level or maturity and experience, which would on some occasions, make him oblivious to the watching fan, as he went about his business on the ice and did it well! He was also a leader and respected by both his team-mates and fellow players.

Sheppard commented to the Basingstoke Gazette, “I am so glad to have played with Greg and he was a great leader for the team. I can understand that he now wants to spend time with his family.”

So what is next for Owen and the Bison? Well I am sure Owen will continue to be involved in ice hockey in some capacity whether it is watching and cheering on the Herd next season or in another way. For Sheppard the search now starts for a replacement and what big shoes they’ll have to fill.

Good luck in everything you do in your future Greg!!!

Bracknell Bees set for new management

A new management team is in order for the EPL’s Bracknell Bees, after the current duo announced they are stepping down after 5 and half seasons in charge at the Hive.

Katie Eleftheriou and Stuart Robinson took over the operating license of the club in December 2007 following the financial collapse of then owner, David Taylor. The pair have guided the club through the hard times over previous years and leave the club in a lot better position than when they took over; both on and off the ice.

The Bees were formed in 1987, under the ownership of John Nike and joined the Division 2 of the Heineken League. Their first honours were gained during the 1989-90 season when they won the English League Division 1 title and gained promotion to the Heineken Premier Division.

The Bees joined the newly formed Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL) for the 1995-96 season and were expected to be one of the smaller teams in comparison to their arena based rivals. However Coach Dave Whistle took the Bees to the title in 1999-00 to claim only the club’s second league title in their history.

The Bees withdrew from the ISL at the end of the 2002-03 season and with Manchester and Ayr ceasing operations; it spelt the end of the ISL as a viable league in Britain. They joined the British National League (BNL) finishing third in their first season. However the team romped to claim the league and cup double during only their second season.
After the double winning season (04-05) John Nike announced that he would no longer be funding the team; however would remain owner of the Bees name/branding. Local estate agent David Taylor stepped up to form a new team and was granted a license by John Nike to use the Bracknell Bees name.

With the BNL folding, the Bees joined the English Premier League, which effectively became the second tier level of British Ice Hockey behind the Elite League.

In only their second season in the EPL, new coach Ryan Aldridge took the team to the league title, whilst also capturing the play-off crown for a season double. In 2007 the Taylor’s announced that they would be taking over ownership of the Basingstoke Bison in the EIHL alongside the Bees and that Aldridge would depart to coach the new team.

The Taylors ran into financial difficulties early in the season and their contract with Planet Ice to run the Bison was terminated. The troubles were mirrored at the Bees and following rumours of unpaid bills, player wages and team unrest, the Taylors announced in December 2007 that they were to relinquish the operating license for the Bees.
This brings us fall circle back round to the current management team of Katie and Stuart.

Just a week after the Taylors walked away from the club Bees fan Katie and Supporters Club chairman Stuart came together to create, Bees Ice Management Ltd; and took over the operating license of the team for the remainder of the season. Despite the off-ice difficulties the Bees had a fairly successful campaign, finishing 3rd in the league, winning the EPL cup and finishing runners up to the Slough Jets in the play-off final.

The following season saw changes afoot for the team, as Adam Bicknell became head coach and was joined by Peter Russell as bench coach. The team suffered heart-break in the cup and play-off finals and finished the season without a trophy for the first time in 5 seasons.

During the 2008-09 season Katie and Stuart had announced that they would not be running the team beyond the end of the current season. However without a new owner forthcoming, they announced last minute, that they would continue to run the club under revised budgets; rather than let the club fold.

Coach Adam Bicknell retired from professional hockey to concentrate on local league football and so the search for a new coach began. With the Telford Tigers struggling financially, their coach Claude Dumas joined the Bees for the 09-10 campaign. Dumas signed the fan favourite pairing of Michal Pinc and Jaroslav Cesky for the new season as well as Andrius Kaminskas. With a budget much less than the top teams in the league, the Bees struggled to compete and ended the season in their worst league position of 9th since dropping to the EPL.

Dumas retired at the end of the season and was replaced by the Bracknell Hornets coach Gareth Cox. Cox kept hold of the majority of the previous year’s team including Pinc and Cesky. Once again the team struggled to compete on an even-keel with the other teams and ended the season in last place, once again failing to make the play-off finals.
Lukas Smital and Martin Masa re-joined the Bees for the 2011-12 campaign having both played for the club during the double championship season in 04-05. Smital joined Cox as assistant coach and together the pair looked to re-build the team for the season ahead. Other returnees for the season included netminder Tom Annetts; following a 2 year spell in Basingstoke, defenceman Carl Graham, and forwards Matt Foord, Rob Lamey and Shaun Thompson.

Despite a competitive squad the Bees once again missed out on the play-offs, by a sole point to the Peterborough Phantoms; for a third successive season in the bottom two.

This current season (2013-13) saw much of the same with Cox building on the foundations of the previous year’s work. Once again a competitive squad was assembled including imports Marcel Petran (who departed in December for Arlan Kokshetau), Jan Bendik and Pavel Strycek.

The team looked to have regained some of their competitive edge and won 24 of the 54 regular season games, to finish in their highest league position in 4 years, as they beat the Swindon Wildcats into 6th place and were finally a play-off contender once more. The Bees faced the eventual play-off champions, the Manchester Phoenix in the quarter finals and lost 10-6 on aggregate.

So after 5 and half years at the helm of the Bees, it does seem a good time for the pair to step down and allow new management to take the team onwards and up. From near financial collapse in 2007 to play-off quarter finalists in 2013, whilst on a much smaller budget compared to teams around them, you have to take your hat off and congratulate Katie and Stuart on the hard work they have done and achievements they have made. Although success on the ice has been hard to come by with three seasons in the bottom two of the table, the off-ice development of the team, means there is a future ahead for the Bees.

With attendances on the rise with attractive hockey on display at the Hive, sponsorship for the team strong (despite the economic climate) and the team starting to make their way back up the rankings you have to say the new management will have a lot to live up to.

The club will ultimately be looking for a top 5 finish next season, having greatly improved during this current campaign. Anything other than beating or matching this year’s results in 2013-14 will be seen as a step backwards, for a club that was once at the top of British ice hockey.

Expect to see a good core of this season’s players return for another year with the odd change and improvement made here or there.

The John Nike Group will be announcing who will be appointed as the new licencee of the Bees for the years ahead; in the coming weeks.

Phoenix deny Flames the Treble in Play-off Final

The Guildford Flames were denied the chance of securing the Grand Slam treble as they lost 5-2 to the Manchester Phoenix in the English Premier League Play-off Final on Sunday at the Skydome Arena, Coventry.

The Phoenix were in fine form and had the killer edge right from the off. Their potent powerplay was put to the test in the first half of the opening period and Captain  Luke Boothroyd gave the Phoenix the lead when the Flames were handed a ‘two many men’ bench minor penalty at 08:56. The Phoenix had a further powerplay opportunity just two minutes later however were unable to take advantage and so the first period ended at 1-0.

Luke Boothroyd celebrates the opening goal with his Phoenix team mates. Photo bty David Steadman.

At 26:37 the Phoenix doubled their lead, when James Archer found the back of the net. Holding the advantage the Phoenix upped the pressure and despite going short-handed after Richard Bentham was called for tripping, Michael Psurny was able to extend the Phoenix’s lead to three at 16:06. The Flames were unable to find a way back into the game and the second period ended at 3-0.

Nathan Rempel sparked life back into the Flames just 40 seconds into the final stanza with a well placed strike beating Stephen Fone. But a further short-handed marker by player/coach Tony Hand 47:09 killed off any hopes of a comeback by the Double Champions.

Nathan Rempel bagged an early comeback goal in the third. Photo by David Steadman.

The Phoenix added a fifth with just over 10 minutes remaining to put the game out of reach. Psurny earning his second of the evening to make it 5-1. A late consolation goal just over a minute later by Branislav Kvetan did littel to dampen the heart broken Flames as they came ever so close to the treble for a second year running.

Psurny and the Phoenix celebrate the 5th goal of the game. Photo by David Steadman.

 The Play-off title will come as to great relief to the Phoenix and Coach Hand, having been runners up a year earlier, and struggling for consistency or form druring the regular season. The Play-off crown is one that has eluded the Phoenix since dropping to the EPL; having only won the League title in only their second season in 2010-11, despite reaching the final four in the previous three seasons.

The Flames will feel a little dis-heartened having lost out on the acclaimed treble for the second year running. However two out of a possible three trophies is not something to be sniffed at, especially as they retained the same titles they had worked hard to claim a year ago.

The season is now officially over and now begins the summer in which every coach will look at every avenue available, to strengthen and develop their team ready for the 2013-14 season in September.

A final congratulations must go out to the Manchester Phoenix on winning the Play-off Final!!!

Elite League Play-off Finals Weekend

So as well as the EPL play-off finals this past weekend we were also treated to the Elite League finals at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham. Belfast Giants, Cardiff Devils, Coventry Blaze and the League Champions Nottingham Panthers were all hoping to take the Play-off crown.

Saturday got underway with the Panthers facing the Devils in the first fixture of the day. The Devils hit the ground running and took an early lead in the opening period with Max Birbraer’s shot giving the Devils the advantage in the opening minute of play.

The Panthers were back in the contest just over five minutes later when Bruce Graham found the net. Before the end of the period Graham netted again to put the Panthers into the lead.

With the second period underway the Panthers extended their lead further before the mid-way point, with Matthew Myers slotting home a well worked phase of play assisted by Robert Lachowicz. The Devils pulled one back in the 31st minute on the powerplay; with the scores remaining at 3-2 to end the second period.

The Panthers came out eager to put the game to bed in the third period and an early goal by Myers restored the two goal lead. Graham bagged his hat-trick marker in the 52nd minute to give the Panthers a buffer going into the final stage of the game.

The Devils pulled their netminder in the final minute of the period and bagged themselves a third, but an empty net hat-trick strike by Myers sealed the win for the Panthers who progressed to their third consecutive play-off final.

The second semi-final saw the Belfast Giants take on the Coventry Blaze; with Coach Paul Thompson hoping for one final hurrah before leaving in the summer.

The game started evenly for both sides who both had early powerplay opportunities; however neither could convert for the opening goal. But when Josh Bruce was called for hooking, the Giants took advantage when Daymen Rycroft took the puck around Peter Hirsch to open the scoring in the 13th minute.

The Blaze ran into more penalty trouble with both Mike Egener and Benn Olson called for minors, and the Giants’ powerplay team made them pay. A one timer by Colin Shields in the 17th minute double the lead and a strike by Craig Peacock 26 second later gave the Giants a 3 goal lead to end the opening period.

The middle stanza saw the teams evenly matched with the Giants unable to add to their impressive tally, but a sole marker by James Griffin boosted the Blaze going into the final period.

With the score at 3-1 it was an uphill battle for the Blaze to come back into it; but stranger things have happened. An early strike by Noah Clarke restored the 3 goal lead for the Giants who looked comfortable both on and off the puck.
With the game all but over, the Giants were able to extend their lead further and add to the misery of the Blaze when Peacock added his second of the evening with just over a minute remaining.

With the Giants overcoming the Blaze it set up a grand-final that would surely keep all fans on the edge of their seats on Sunday afternoon; with the league champions facing their closest rivals for the play-off title.

Craig Peacock celebrates his goal in the semi-final against Coventry.

On Sunday, the first game of the day was between the Coventry Blaze and Cardiff Devils for the bronze medal. Thompson ended his Blaze career on a winning note with the Blaze comfortably beating the Devils 11-5.

In the afternoon it was the one they had all been waiting for, the Panthers versus the Giants. The opening period was a tight and tense affair as neither team could break the deadlock; despite numerous chances at both ends of the rink.

The break-through goal came mid-way through the second period with Lachowicz firing the Panthers in front with a powerplay goal. Jonathan Weaver bagged another powerplay goal in the final minute of the period to give them a 2-0 lead heading into the final period.

Belfast were not down and out however and an early powerplay goal of their own halved the lead to one. Three minutes later and the game was tied at 2-2 with it all to play for. Despite a late powerplay opportunity the Panthers could not find a go ahead goal and the third period ended with the scores level. The Panthers had to kill off an early Belfast powerplay early in the overtime period, but came back with Captain Jordan Fox scored a third powerplay goal of the night to seal with win for the Panthers.

The play-off victory sealed off a fantastic year for Nottingham; with the Panthers having won their first league title in 57 years, their fourth consecutive Challenge Cup title and their third successive Play-off title to record a magical treble. A feat that has only been achieved once before in EIHL history by the Coventry Blaze in 2004/05.

Nottingham Panthers Captain Jordan Fox lifts the Play-off trophy aloft. Photo by Katie Chadburn

EPL Play-off Semi-final Scores

The first game of the day featured the EPL League and Cup (Double) Champions the Guildford Flames, who took on the Milton Keynes Lightning. Always thrilling encounters, today was no different as the Flames came from behind in the third to take victory in dramatic fashion.

Despite taking an early powerplay, the Flames could not capitalise and it was the Lightning who found themselves in front when Captain Adam Carr fired past Mark Lee to give the Lightning a one goal lead in the first period. However the Flames were able to re-group and took advantage of the additional man as Nathan Rempel fired them back into contention with the equalising goal just over a minute later. Neither team could find the net for the remainder of the period as the scores remained level after 20 minutes.

A sole marker in the middle stanza saw the Lightning take the lead once again in the game with Michael Farn’s 27th minute strike. A tense final period was in store and when David Longstaff levelled the scores in the opening two minutes of the final session the Flames were once again back into contention.

Despite their chances neither team could find the go ahead goal, but with just under three minutes remaining in the period, Rempel was able to break the deadlock and put the Flames ahead with his second of the evening. Even after pulling netminder Stephen Wall for the extra skater the Lightning were unable to level the game and so the Flames secured their place in Sunday’s final; to keep up their hopes of securing the EPL Grand-slam.

In the second match of the evening, it was a first for the Basingstoke Bison who were visiting the Skydome Arena for the first time since dropping to the EPL in 2009. Despite being short benched the Herd were fired up for the occasion and player/coach Doug Sheppard was leading his men in search of the club’s first silverware in 13 years. Having lead the Slough Jets to victory over the Manchester Phoenix a year ago he was well placed to deal with the pressure the play-off finals weekend can sometimes throw at teams. Tony Hand was looking to end the season on a high after failing to match up to both the Bison and Flames during the regular season.

Despite their early chances, including a powerplay opportunity, the first goal swung in favour of the Phoenix as James Neil’s shot beat Stevie Lyle to make it 1-0 to Manchester. Just over three minutes later and the Herd were back in the game as Greg Owen levelled the scores. With the Phoenix killing off another powerplay chance in the final stages of the period, it was to no avail as Sheppard fired the Bison into the lead before the close of the period.

With the second period underway, netminder Stephen Fone was a rock at the back for Phoenix, stopping a huge chance for Joe Greener to extend the lead further. Moments later and the Phoenix were back into the game, with Hand finding the net. With both teams running into penalty trouble neither were able to find the upper hand in the middle phase of play. Fone once again kept the Phoenix in the game with a big stop on a one-on-one break against Joe Miller before Lyle repeated the action at the other end of the rink against Michal Psurny. With the period drawing to a close the Phoenix were able to find the go ahead goal with Flaten’s powerplay strike beating Lyle.

With momentum swinging in favour of the Phoenix, it appeared that the Bison had got an early equaliser in the second period only for Jaroslav Cesky’s shot to be wiped off and no goal given. In a sign of frustration Cesky slashed his stick across the glass at the goal judge and earned himself a misconduct penalty. Moments later and the equalising goal did come when Greg Chambers found the bet in the 43rd minute; leaving it all to play for.

It appeared it was a session of tic-tac-toe on the score board. Just over a minute after Chambers levelled the scores Psurny grabbed his second of the game to put the Phoenix back in front. A further minute on and the scores were once again level with over 10 minutes remaining. A period of 5-on-3 was gifted to the Bison but they couldn’t take advantage to take the lead once more. With the game drawing to a conclusion overtime was needed to find a difference between the two evenly matched sides.

With the extra five minutes unable to find a winner, the dreaded penalty shots were called upon. First up were the Phoenix and Psurny who bagged his hat-trick marker to put the Phoenix ahead.

Next up was Cesky for the Bison, who made no mistake in making up for his earlier disallowed goal, firing past Fone to level the scores. Captain Luke Boothroyd was next but his effort just missed. Joe Rand put the Bison ahead with his well taken penalty and it was all down to Miller to win it for the Bison; but his shot missed extending the tension further.

McKenzie stepped up for the Phoenix and his shot got the better of Lyle as he levelled the scores at two a-piece. James Archer was next up for the Phoenix who fired them straight into the play-off final with a well worked penalty shot. Sheppard was next for the Bison but his missed shot ensured the Phoenix would make the final for a second year in a row.

EPL Semi-final Contenders Confirmed

Last weekend saw four quarter final match-ups take place on Saturday and Sunday and after 480 minutes and a few seconds of tense hockey action, the contenders for the EPL semi-finals have been decided.

The Guildford Flames took their 4-1 advantage from Saturday and extended it further for an 11-3 aggregate score against the Peterborough Phantoms.

The Basingstoke Bison secured their place at the finals weekend in Coventry for the first time since they dropped to the EPL with an overtime winner on Sunday against the Swindon Wildcats.

The Manchester Phoenix overturned a one goal deficit on Saturday to beat the Bracknell Bees 7-2 on Sunday to secure their place for the fourth year running.

The Slough Jets come back from 4-2 down on Saturday to force the game into overtime but Milton Keynes’ overtime strike fired them into the final 4.

Here is a game-by-game summary of the quarter finals.

Guildford Flames [11] v [3] Peterborough Phantoms
The Double-double champions went into the quarter final the favourites to progress to Coventry. Having secured the EPL Cup and league titles in the weeks preceding the fixture the team was full of confidence, whilst the Phantoms would be hoping for an upset as in 2011. On Saturday the Flames travelled to Peterborough for the first game and after a feisty affair took a comfortable 4-1 advantage into their home leg on Sunday; with a brace of goals from Curtis Huppe and individual efforts from Rick Plant and Paul Dixon.

On Sunday there was a vibrant atmosphere at the Spectrum, with the Kids go free offer packing the rafters to capacity. Despite early chances the first goal did not come until the 13th minute. Damien King seeing the better of Dean Holland’s wrap around attempt; however the rebound fell straight back to Holland who fired the puck from an acute angle past the post. The Phantoms struck back quickly as Maris Ziedins found the net to equal the scores; however the Flames advantage was re-stored before the end of the period with Nathan Rempel finding the net to make it 2-1.

A pair of goals from Curtis Huppe and Branislav Kvetan in the second period stretched the Flames lead to three going into the final period.

The Phantoms job of a comeback was made even harder early in the third period when Ben Campbell found the net. With the game entering the final 10 minutes Jez Lundin comfortably put the Flames five goals in front with a blueline strike. Minutes later and James Ferrara was able to grab a consolation goal for the Phantoms only for Huppe to add his second of the evening with just over a minute remaining in the game. A game very much subdued than the previous night was brought to life in the dying seconds as Scott Greenfield and Greg Pick dropped the gloves to round up the final period.

A 7-2 victory on the night secured a 11-3 aggregate win for the champions who will be keeping their fingers crossed they can secure the grand slam they were so close to winning last season.

Basingstoke Bison [5] v [4] Swindon Wildcats (after overtime)
The Bison went into the quarter final short benched through injuries and with two of their junior players on international duty in Estonia; but they were hoping for some luck. Having never reached the finals weekend in their three previous seasons, the pressure was on player/coach Doug Sheppard who led the Slough Jets to the Play-off crown in 2011-12.

A very tight opening game at the Link Centre saw both teams’ level terms after 60 minutes. The Bison opened the scoring through Joe Greener but the Wildcats responded in the second period with Aaron Nell grabbing the first of his hat-trick. By the mid-way point of the game ex-Wildcat Jaroslav Cesky’s pair extended the Bison’s lead to two. But Nell added a second before the period was over. A final strike in the final 5 minutes earned Nell a well-earned hat-trick and set up an epic battle in Sunday’s game back at the Basingstoke Arena.

There was not much two split the two sides as the opening period got underway, but Joe Rand put the Bison ahead at 14:51. It took some time but the Wildcats were able to respond and Sam Bullas brought the game level once again at 22:23. Neither side could find the go ahead go with both netminders on top form and with the game drawing to an end it was clear that overtime or penalties would have to settle this tie.

With the Wildcats penalised for too many men just before the final buzzer the extra period was 4-on-3 in favour of the Bison. Taking full advantage straight away Cesky wound up a slap shot from the point only to be denied by the post. However the puck bounced across the crease to a waiting Greener who fired home to seal the victory for the Bison and secure their place in Coventry.

Manchester Phoenix [10] v [6] Bracknell Bees
With both teams enjoying a strong end to the regular season it was always going to be hard to pick a winner from this quarter final. With a comeback win against the Sheffield Steeldogs in the final game of the season the Bees secured 6th place and had made the play-off quarter finals for the first time since 2009-10.

On Saturday the Phoenix made their way to the Hive for the first leg; however it was not to go their way and the homeside took the opening victory 4-3 with goals from Shaun Thompson x2, Scott Spearing, and Grant Rounding. It was, as they would say, a proper play-off encounter and a very close game right to the final buzzer.

On Sunday the Phoenix were back in their own barn and hoping to give the home fans something to cheer about. Unlike the previous night the Phoenix took a first period lead which they would not give up for the remainder of the game. With the Bees hitting penalty trouble early in the encounter goals from Flaten and Psurny gave the Phoenix the aggregate lead at 5-4.

The homeside started the second period as the first ended and extended their lead further when James Archer set up Robert Schnabel for the game winning goal in the 26th minute. With the game at 4-on-4 following an altercation between Spearing and Pozivil, Andy McKinney made it 4-0 on the night just before the mid-way point.

Going into the third and final period the Phoenix held a 3-0 aggregate lead over the Bees. However hopes of a sparks of a comeback were made when Oliver Bronniman found the net at 42:01. But a second goal by Schnabel killed of any hopes of a Bees comeback. Lukas Smital did grab the Bees a consolation goal on the powerplay, but their inability to keep out the penalty box lead to their downfall as Boothroyd made it 6-2 with less than 10 minutes to play. With the game drawing to an end the Phoenix were able to grab a final marker at 57:04 with McKinney grabbing his second of the game.

Milton Keynes Lightning [5] v [4] Slough Jets (after overtime)
Neither team could be seen as the favourites going into the weekend, but the Lightning took the advantage in Slough on Saturday. The Jets opened the scoring through Ciaran Long but ex-Jet Blaz Emersic was on hand to grab an equaliser for the Lightning before the end of the opening period.

The Lightning seemed to be firing on all cylinders for the second period and peppered Greg Rockman with 21 shots in the Jets goal however only a single marker found the net as Kamil Tvrdek scored on the powerplay giving the visitors a one goal lead heading into the third period.

The Jets seemed to overturn their own performance and dominated for much of the final period, but it was the Lightning to get on the board first as Chris Wiggins netted their third at 50:11. Just over a minute later and Nicky Chinn scored on the powerplay to extend the Lightning’s lead to three with less than 8 minutes remaining. But the Jets kept up the pressure and Dan Davies kept the deficit to just two scoring at 54:14.

On Sunday and back in MK the Lightning only had to hold the two goal lead and bag a couple of early goals to extend their advantage but it was Slough that were calling the shots. The Jets took an early lead in the opening two minutes to make it 4-3 on aggregate score. Before the period was up, Blaz Emersic was called for checking from behind and ejected from the game.

It was the Jets that were having the better of the chances and they levelled the game at 28:47 with Long grabbing his second of the weekend with a powerplay strike. Both teams were able to hold on for the final 30 minutes and neither could grab a go ahead goal, forcing the tie into overtime. With the 5 minute overtime period underway it was Captain Adam Carr that was able to fire the Lightning into the semi-finals with a well-placed strike past Rockman.

On Saturday the semi-finals kick off at the Skydome Arena in Coventry. The first game will see the double champions Guildford take on the MK Lightning at 3pm before the Bison and Phoenix go toe-to-toe at 7pm.