Telford Tigers fall to Flames but defeat Phoenix

Flames got off to a great start in Telford, scoring three unanswered goals through Jozef Kohut, Jez Lundin and David Longstaff to end the first period in control.

The second period saw ex-Tiger Ricky Plant extend their lead to four, before on loan Josh Bruce pulled one back for Telford. Longstaff added his second and Flames fifth just before the half hour mark as they took advantage of a lacklustre Tigers performance.

Tigers changed netminders for the start of the third period with Gospel replacing Ryan, as they came to life in an even final period. Tigers forward Marek Mikusovic scored five minutes in to the final period to raise hopes of a comeback, but these were short lived as Kohut scored his second to restore the visitors four goal advantage, which they held on to, running out 6-2 winners at the final buzzer.

Onto Sunday's trip to face Phoenix, and what a difference twenty four hours makes with Tigers looking a completely different team. Telford took the game to their high scoring opponents from the start, scoring the games' opening goal through Marek Mikusovic just after ten minutes to stun the home crowd. Tigers worked hard to hold on to their lead and end the first period on top.

Manchester came straight out of the blocks in the second period with Phoenix player coach Tony Hand equalising in the second minute of the period. Callum Bowley restored Tigers lead less than five minutes later, before Phoenix hit back with a brace from Kovar after Andy McKinney had scored the equaliser, giving Manchester a 4-2 lead at the second period break.

The third period saw a controversial decision as Phoenix claimed a goal but the referee disagreed, and to add insult to injury for Phoenix, Tigers went straight to the other end and pulled a goal back through Adam Taylor. Tigers continued to press forward looking for the equaliser, and with just under ten minutes remaining, Nathan Salem delivered to the delight of Tigers noisy travelling fans to bring the score to 4-4.

Both teams pressed forward looking for the winner, but Phoenix found Tigers netminder Ryan in defiant mood. With the scores level after sixty minutes, the game went in to five minutes overtime, with no further goals but Phoenix's Hand receiving a ten minute penalty for abuse. On to penalty shots to decide the winner, and Tigers ended victorious after Salem and Bowley scored theirs to secure the two points and hand Manchester their first home defeat of the season.

Tigers player-coach Tom Watkins after the weekend's games said, "Saturday was a disappointing performance, we were a bit negative and didn't really get into the game and at times it was men against boys.

"Sunday we played with a real intensity, our forecheck was good, we knew they would be without Schnabel, we spoke about putting pressure on their defence and turning the puck over. Both teams had a goal disallowed, but we never gave up, we played to the whistle, showed real character and battled back from two down to take the game into overtime. I was delighted that Callum scored the winning penalty, he put himself forward to take it, he has been tremendous for us this season."

The win in Manchester moves Tigers on to eight points in the league, ahead of Bracknell and Peterborough in eighth place, just a point behind Sheffield Steeldogs. Next week Tigers travel to Guildford on Saturday before Milton Keynes Lightning are the visitors to Telford on Sunday.