NIHL SOUTH 1
STREATHAM REDHAWKS VS PETERBOROUGH PHANTOMS
SUNDAY 11/02/18
Pre Game
So first, a big thank you to the Streatham Redhawks, as I was the winner of the weeks twitter competition and so my flat mate and I got to enjoy this game compliments of the Hawks.
The Redhawks came in to this game, off the back of a 6-0 victory over the struggling Cardiff Fire. The week before had been a weekend of two halves as the Hawks had been felled 5-2 in Swindon before only just managing to defeat local rivals London Raiders 4-3.
Coach Cornish's defence corps would find itself depleeted this evening, already without long term injury victim Adam Wood. The continued absence of Chris Cooke would mean Michael Farn, Brendain Baird, Jordan Gregory and James Warman rotating all night long and not getting much of a rest between shifts.
Some describe the hockey of the Peterborugh Phantoms as boring, and unexciting, I do have to agree its not the most thrilling hockey I have seen. But I have always followed the belief in hockey that while flashy goals and spectacular saves may draw at the box office. So do wins on the baord and thats what the Phantoms have succeeded at doing a lot this year, they get the job done. If the Hawks were to get anything out of this game and collect the final ex EPL scalp in thier collection for this season they would need to find a way to shut down the offensive arsenal at coach Koulikovs disposal. Nathen Salem, Will Weldon, Ales Padelek, Darius Pilskauskas and Leigh Jamieson would all bring plenty of high level experience and point scoring ability in to this game.
1st Period
The Hawks would win the opening face off, but they would ultimatly come under pressure first. Eventually the Hawks would fail to deal with this pressure getting stretched out of shape, as the Phantoms found moving the puck around quite easy as the Hawks passive defensive zone play gave them space to do so.
Then at 1:36 the Phantoms struck as a bad line change from the Hawks lead to an interception at the blue line. Colclough would save off the following shot but could not cover the rebound and during the chaos in front of net Will Weldon was able to stuff home the puck to make it 1-0 Phantoms.
Looking to answer back the game Redhawks turned to stretch passes from the end of the rink and up. However the Phantoms were looking to cancel this by trappinga nd forcing turn overs in the neutral zone.
The Hawks looked a little disjointed going forward, with my flat mate noting how the spacing of the players was too bunched up on the puck. No one was looking to exploit space and create openings. However in a stark comparison at 3:41 when the Phantoms went on the Powerplay after Brendan Baird took a 2 minute slashing penalty trying to stop a breakaway chance. The Hawks players spacing was disciplined and despite the Phantoms holding most of the possesion, they couldn't make it work and Colcough was able to save any shot that made it through.
The neutral zone clogging of the Phantoms was making a gauntlet for the Hawks players to run, regardless of whether going wide or up the middle there was always an active stick or player in the way. Only Ryan Webb, Andreas Siagris and Jacob Ranson were able to be effective at running this. However they would carry so much speed their line mates would find themselves either choked off or facing immediate counters as they were stripped of the puck.
At the half way point Michael Farn and Ryan Watt would combine for a tip in attempt but Euan King, soon after Siagris would again find a way through the gauntlet, but unlike last week against Romford the small speedster would be muscled off the puck. This turn over would spark another counter attack as the Phantoms took the puck up the wing, Owen Griffifths providing the creative spark that would lead to Nathen Salem feeding a wide open and waiting Ales Padelek who netted the puck to make it 2-0 Phantoms.
Ryan Watt would seek to claw a goal back soon after breaking in and firing low from the top of the circle, aiming to exploit Kings five hole. But King was faster and made the save. The Period would end with sustained pressure on the Phantoms net, with the Hawks looking more organised and going close on several occasions with Watt, Carr, Webb and Siagris all trying to force opportunities from up close. While the ranged artillery at the Hawks blue line tried to find the right type of screen in front of King but the Phantoms held on.
2nd Period
The Redhawks would begin the second period looking a lot more organized. While still using a passive defensive strategy focusing more on choking off the puck carriers options than hitting the puck carrier, they would use this method to soak up some early pressure before using the wings this time to break forward
While in the first they Hawks had surrendered the neutral zone this period they began making a claim for the zone themselves. Both sides now faced a gauntlet of sticks and the game became a series of counter attacks off of turn overs.
On one such attack Hayes Farn and Doughty would find themselves in 3 on 1, but King was just about able to make a spectacular save moving post to post as the Hawks tried to catch the goalie in motion. The Hawks would go agonizingly close around the half way mark as King was forced to stack the pads in dramatic style as Webb got in close with the puck. In the ensuing mele it looked like the puck was net bound 4 times, but no one could get enough lift on the puck to force it over Kings stacked pads.
The Phantoms had endured nearly a whole period under fire from the Hawks offence, unable to make possession count, as turn over after turn over was forced. And the Hawks found ways to clear the pucks, eventually though Leigh Jamieson and Ales Padelek would find ways to close in and get chances that forced Colclough in to desperation saves.
The period would end with a disagreement on the ice between Will Weldon and several members of the Hawks bench. Which would earn Weldon a 10+2 penalty to start the third.
3rd Period
The Redhawks had done half of the job they needed to in the 2nd period. They had held the scoreline to 2-0, not allowing the Phantoms to add to this score. With a power play to start the period the Hawks would have a good chance to claw a goal back.
However the 4 on 3 power play to start the period was not fruitful. The Hawks moved the puck around but not in a way that drew Phantoms penalty killers out of position, and a lot of shots found themselves blocked.
Going back to 5 on 5 seemed to create more opportunity for the Hawks, Alex Sampford and Ryan Webb would attempt to create something breaking in with speed Webb would head to the net and look to tip a cross crease pass from Sampford. But again King would smother this.
At 14:57 A high stick on Andreas Siagris from Jamieson gave the Hawks another Powerplay chance, but again the Hawks could not find a way through the aggressive penalty kill of the Phantoms, despite multiple attempts by Siagris to create something driving the play towards the net. Every attempt at crashing the net would see Hawks players stripped of pucks, and rebounds would fall in places that no Redhawk was standing.
Having killed off this penalty the Phantoms decided to try and kill off the game, and began to really pressure the Hawks net, looking for a third. But now just like his opposite number in the Phantoms net, Colclough was turning everything he faced away.
The best chance in the last minutes of the game would go to Aiden Doughty, breaking in off a dump up the wall Doughty found himself with time and space to take a shot that looked goal bound, it had beaten King but rang off the iron and away. Shortly after Ryan Watt would take a tripping penalty trying to stop a Phantoms goal opportunity.
The Hawks would end the game on the Powerplay looking to break through the wall in the Phantoms net, but nothing the Hawks tried, no wrap around or cross crease pass or point shot could find a way through. And so at the final buzzer the game would end 2-0 to the Phantoms
Post Game
Euan King, would collect the man of the match beers for the Phantoms. And this was well deserved. King stood on his head and soaked up all the pressure put on him, and stole the game for the Phantoms. Other mentions have to go to Ales Padelek and Nathen Salem, who were a constant threat both on and off the puck. The Phantoms came in with a plan and executed it well, they controlled the neutral zone for long periods and that guaranteed victory as Streatham could not find a way to break through the gauntlet of active sticks.
In the programme, Jeremy Cornish had said the previous weekend saw the exact same team take to the ice, but in games that generated different results. The same was true here, the Hawks had found 6 ways to score the night before but, but this night they were very much on the receiving end of that frustration. Matt Colclough was given the man of the match beers, a sign of how close this game had been. Colclough deserved this as he had done all he could to keep the Hawks in the game. I felt Andreas Siagris deserved this equally, though he failed to score, the Canadian has found a rich vein of form in recent weeks, and tonight was another example of this as he was constantly driving plays and trying to create something. Sadly the poor first period was what cost the Hawks on the night, as with each save Euan King became more and more confident.
The Redhawks will look to bounce back next weekend, but with a trip to Swindon next on the schedule it may be a tough task. However this team has shown time and time again it can compete with the ex EPL sides, and have beaten the Wildcats once this season already. Sundays game against the Dynamo's represents a better opportunity for the Hawks to bag some points and close the gap with the Raiders and the Bees in the play off chase.
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