Telford Tigers suffer penalty shoot-out defeat in NIHL play-offs

Head coach Watkins felt Telford were the better team for two periods and still praised the efforts put in by his team to gain a point.

He said: “I thought for two periods we were the better team, out shooting and out chancing Peterborough but we hadn’t really taken any advantage of that. 

"We gave up two goals where we have to do much better with those situations and ultimately that cost us. We played hard, were very competitive and after falling behind kept our belief to tie the game up. 

"I am disappointed to lose for sure but we once again we put on a battling display with a depleted group and are expecting a lot of players who are playing high minutes. 

"The boys were running on fumes toward the end of the game but kept pushing to get back level and we gained a point from those efforts.”

Peterborough took the lead during a tight first period when Brady Day got his pads to the puck but was unable to prevent Cameron Hough converting from close-range. 

Telford hit back with two power play goals towards the end of the opening period. Jarvis Hunt was serving a kneeing penalty and Nathan Salem was serving a roughing penalty which handed Telford a two-man advantage. 

They ruthlessly capitalise on their numerical superiority with Scott McKenzie's shot was diverted kindly into the path of David Thompson to level proceedings. 

Things got better for Telford in the final second of the first period when James Smith pounced on Danny Rose's deflected shot to beat Phantoms net minder Hayden Lavigne with a clinical finish. 

Tigers doubled their lead five minutes into the second period when Eric Henderson set-up Thomson who scored his second of the game after picking up a rebound to shoot into an empty net. 

But in a rollercoaster affair, Peterborough pulled one back with a power play goal of their own as Hough bagged his brace for the visitors. 

Peterborough punished Telford for a poor line change which allowed them to break through on goal as Tom Norton scored from Hough's rebounded effort to equalise. 

The Phantoms went in front early in the third period when Duncan Speirs was left unmarked to slot his finish past Day. 

Tigers threw the kitchen sink at the closing stages and reaped the rewards for their endeavour when Skoleski took the game to overtime. 

In the final minute, Rhodes Mitchell-King fed Skoleski who sent a terrific wrist shot into the far bottom corner. 

Neither side found the net in overtime and Peterborough scored from their first three attempts in the shootout before Eric Henderson saw his penalty saved by Lavigne.