First Period
The Steeldogs started the game pretty much as they always do (dirty) and at 6:20 Kurnigins was called for high sticks and Phoenix got the chance on the powerplay. Unfortunately nothing came of the powerplay and shortly after a face off in the Phoenix zone, Payette decided that it would be a good idea to punch Faith in the face, obviously nothing was called and Steeldogs got away with it as per usual. Phoenix started to get frustrated as there were no calls being made for blatant penalties and at 9:35 Johnson got called for holding but the Steeldogs were unable to make use of the powerplay. Things started to get physical when Ozolins shot after the whistle and a few handbags broke out in front of the Phoenix goal which didn't amount to much (probably because Payette wasn't on the ice) anyway Phoenix did many a few attempts at goal and with just under 8 minutes left in the period we had a few scrappy attempts in front of the Steeldogs net, unfortunately the referee blew the whistle because we were apparently in the blue semi circle (what a load of rubbish) and we were unable to get the puck over the line. At 18:14, Payette finally was called for something and took a seat for hooking but Phoenix still couldn't get the puck in the back of the net and the period ended without a goal for either team.
After the first period both teams were without a goal but it wasn't for trying. Unfortunately this was one of the scrappiest periods of hockey I have ever watched, even for games against the Steeldogs, there was slashing, prodding and digging and Phoenix couldn't seem to get going. I hate to say this but this is what Steeldogs are good at, making the opposition look bad because they can't get going, they make the players frustrated, the opposition retaliate and then the fans have to watch scrappy hockey. However this is the only thing Steeldogs are good at and I'm hoping that the team that beat Guildford last weekend make an appearance on the ice for the second period.
Second Period
The second period started where the last one left off, the play was still very scrappy and uneventful until 4 minutes in when Morgan blocked a shot with his back which resulted in him being down at the boards for a while. Luckily he was ok and play resumed. At 24:13, Phoenix got the chance on the powerplay when Steeldogs picked up a bench minor for too many men. Unfortunately Phoenix were still unable to create any chances and the powerplay slipped away. Following this the Steeldogs upped their game and Kurningens broke away which made him one on one with Fone. Luckily for Phoenix Fone saved the shot which was right at him and kept the Steeldogs from taking the lead. The rest of the period remained uneventful apart from a penalty on Greg Wood for high sticks at 35:14 and the clock ran out to signal the end of two goalless periods.
So after two periods, it was still tied 0-0. The play was still scrappy and sluggish and unfortunately this was benefitting the Steeldogs. They had suddenly found some momentum and were putting pressure on the Phoenix defence. Luckily Fone was standing strong in net and was keeping us in it but unfortunately Bowns was also doing his usual thing in the Sheffield goal and Phoenix were still unable to get the puck past him. It didn't help that every face off in the game resulting in the referee blowing his whistle for some reason or another which broke up the play and distracted the players. I have to mention this as it humoured me somewhat but after the whistle had gone and the players were making there way off the ice, Payette was screaming at Greg Wood about something or other, now I obviously don't know whether this was frustration about the face offs and he was just venting or that he is just a great big bully (I somehow think it was the latter) but it did amuse me to watch him get so angry that it looked like he was taking it all out on one of his own players! He then proceeded to have a go with Hand but I do actually think this was in relation to the face offs and not anything else. Anyway I hope that the third period will result in a goal and that Phoenix can manage to get two points from this game as it was becoming very frustrating that we weren't performing to the best of our ability.
Third Period
The third period didn't start brilliantly for Phoenix and due to a mistake in defence, Steeldogs managed to get through to the Phoenix net, luckily Fone made the save and managed to keep them at bay (again!) At 40:56 Gomeniuk was called for charging and Phoenix got yet another chance on the powerplay, yet again the penalty passed without a goal. At 41:48 Sheffield called a time out but this didn't amount to much and at 43:11 a goal was finally scored and Phoenix took the lead. Boothroyd took a shot from the blue line and Duggan found the rebound and kept digging to get the puck in the back of the net (thank God for that!) Following this Phoenix started to find some momentum and form, at 44:18 Cingel broke away and took a shot at goal, unfortunately he was offside and the shot caught Morgan on the knee (he keeps getting in the way of the puck) luckily he was ok and managed to carry on playing. At 49:55, Long broke away, deked all the d-men and came to the right hand side, managed to pull off a backhanded shot which Bowns didn't managed to catch and the puck was in the back of the net. (Get in!) At 51:01, the Phoenix fans had yet another goal to cheer about, this time Cingel made a great pass to Koulikov who fired a beauty straight past Bowns. With just over 8 minutes left of the game, Phoenix called a time out, probably to ensure that Fone got his shut out. At 51:59, Wallace was called for delay of game but Sheffield were unable to break the Phoenix defence. At 54:45 Bowns took a high stick from his own player which saw him fall to the ice, he seemed to be ok but a change of netminder was made and Day took his place in the Sheffield goal. The seconds ticked down on the clock to signal Fone's third shut out of the season and a 3-0 win for Phoenix.
After two goalless periods of hockey, Phoenix finally managed to get going in the third and found a way to get past Bowns. It was definitely not the greatest performance for Phoenix and part of me thought the game was going to end up finishing at 0-0 and we were going to have to go into overtime. To be honest I actually thought that the Steeldogs managed to actually play hockey tonight, granted their were a few incidents but it was nothing compared to previous games and Payette didn't seem to be that bothered about bullying and intimidating the opposition. The referee finally managed to stop blowing his whistle at every face off which helped Phoenix gain momentum. I am so glad that we have managed to get two points from the game and when we finally got going the goals and play were slick and to our normal standard. It may be that the game streak had taken it out of the guys but after what I can only assume was a good talking too from Sir Tony things started to flow again.
Goals - Phoenix 43:11 - Duggan, Assist - Boothroyd, Phoenix 49:55 - Long (unassisted), Phoenix 51:01 - Koulikov, Assist - Cingel
Final Score - Phoenix 3 - Steeldogs - 0
MOM - Phoenix - Fone, Steeldogs - Kurnigins
So after two periods, it was still tied 0-0. The play was still scrappy and sluggish and unfortunately this was benefitting the Steeldogs. They had suddenly found some momentum and were putting pressure on the Phoenix defence. Luckily Fone was standing strong in net and was keeping us in it but unfortunately Bowns was also doing his usual thing in the Sheffield goal and Phoenix were still unable to get the puck past him. It didn't help that every face off in the game resulting in the referee blowing his whistle for some reason or another which broke up the play and distracted the players. I have to mention this as it humoured me somewhat but after the whistle had gone and the players were making there way off the ice, Payette was screaming at Greg Wood about something or other, now I obviously don't know whether this was frustration about the face offs and he was just venting or that he is just a great big bully (I somehow think it was the latter) but it did amuse me to watch him get so angry that it looked like he was taking it all out on one of his own players! He then proceeded to have a go with Hand but I do actually think this was in relation to the face offs and not anything else. Anyway I hope that the third period will result in a goal and that Phoenix can manage to get two points from this game as it was becoming very frustrating that we weren't performing to the best of our ability.
Third Period
The third period didn't start brilliantly for Phoenix and due to a mistake in defence, Steeldogs managed to get through to the Phoenix net, luckily Fone made the save and managed to keep them at bay (again!) At 40:56 Gomeniuk was called for charging and Phoenix got yet another chance on the powerplay, yet again the penalty passed without a goal. At 41:48 Sheffield called a time out but this didn't amount to much and at 43:11 a goal was finally scored and Phoenix took the lead. Boothroyd took a shot from the blue line and Duggan found the rebound and kept digging to get the puck in the back of the net (thank God for that!) Following this Phoenix started to find some momentum and form, at 44:18 Cingel broke away and took a shot at goal, unfortunately he was offside and the shot caught Morgan on the knee (he keeps getting in the way of the puck) luckily he was ok and managed to carry on playing. At 49:55, Long broke away, deked all the d-men and came to the right hand side, managed to pull off a backhanded shot which Bowns didn't managed to catch and the puck was in the back of the net. (Get in!) At 51:01, the Phoenix fans had yet another goal to cheer about, this time Cingel made a great pass to Koulikov who fired a beauty straight past Bowns. With just over 8 minutes left of the game, Phoenix called a time out, probably to ensure that Fone got his shut out. At 51:59, Wallace was called for delay of game but Sheffield were unable to break the Phoenix defence. At 54:45 Bowns took a high stick from his own player which saw him fall to the ice, he seemed to be ok but a change of netminder was made and Day took his place in the Sheffield goal. The seconds ticked down on the clock to signal Fone's third shut out of the season and a 3-0 win for Phoenix.
After two goalless periods of hockey, Phoenix finally managed to get going in the third and found a way to get past Bowns. It was definitely not the greatest performance for Phoenix and part of me thought the game was going to end up finishing at 0-0 and we were going to have to go into overtime. To be honest I actually thought that the Steeldogs managed to actually play hockey tonight, granted their were a few incidents but it was nothing compared to previous games and Payette didn't seem to be that bothered about bullying and intimidating the opposition. The referee finally managed to stop blowing his whistle at every face off which helped Phoenix gain momentum. I am so glad that we have managed to get two points from the game and when we finally got going the goals and play were slick and to our normal standard. It may be that the game streak had taken it out of the guys but after what I can only assume was a good talking too from Sir Tony things started to flow again.
Goals - Phoenix 43:11 - Duggan, Assist - Boothroyd, Phoenix 49:55 - Long (unassisted), Phoenix 51:01 - Koulikov, Assist - Cingel
Final Score - Phoenix 3 - Steeldogs - 0
MOM - Phoenix - Fone, Steeldogs - Kurnigins
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