Romford Raiders Vs Manchester Phoenix 21st November 2009

Romford Raiders 8 Manchester Phoenix 3 (2-1 : 4-1 : 2-1)

Romford produced their best performance and result of the season, as they comprehensively beat league leaders Manchester on Saturday night. With Jesse Hammill injured Romford included new defenceman Andrej Lavrenovs in their line up.

Right from the start of the game it was obviously Romford were determined to make up for their poor showing in Manchester at the start of the season, as they came out playing at 100mph and hitting everything in sight. Mikko Silvennoinen almost gave Romford the lead early on in the game when Phoenix netminder Steven Fone pushed a shot from Frankie Harvey in front of the net, but the netminder somehow managed to recover and get something on the Finn's shot to turn it over. However, at 12.58, Romford were able to beat Fone, and in almost identical circumstances. This time it was Jason Buckman, who fired in a shot from the left, and when Fone pushed the puck out in front of the net, JJ McGrath was on hand to fire home his first goal for the Raiders. The lead lasted for less than 90 seconds, as Jaakko Hagelberg was able to tip home a shot from James Neil, at 14.10. Romford needed a response to stop the visiting side from getting back into the game, and they were given the opportunity when Hagelberg was binned for charging, at 18.08. It took just 48 seconds for Romford to make the extra man count, as Fone dropped a shot from Danny Marshall, and Jon Sitko was in the right place to poke the loose puck into the net, at 18.56.

The second period was completely dominated by Romford, who out-shot their visitors by 23-10. With the Phoenix players getting more and more frustrated their penalty count began to climb, and Romford took full advantage, scoring 4 powerplay goals. Joe Graham was the first player to visit the sin bin, as he was called for hooking. The penalty had almost been killed of, but with just 10 seconds to go, Romford finally struck. Marshall was in the right place to pick up a loose puck, after Grant Taylor's shot had been saved, and the skipped tucked it away, at 24.33 Andre Payette quickly replaced Graham, when he binned for slashing, and Marshall made it 4-1, at 24.48, after a shot from Sitko had rebounded off the boards behind the goal. Manchester hit back to reduce the gap again, at 27.58, when Romford were unable to clear the puck from the zone and Iain Bowie set up Adam Walker, who skated and lifted a backhand shot into the roof of the net. Euan King made a stunning stick save to deny Walker shortly after, as Manchester enjoyed a brief period of dominance, as they kept out of the bin for a few minutes. They were unable to keep away from penalty box for long, and when a bench minor for an illegal change on icing, was quickly followed by a charging call on Hagelberg, Romford made the 2 man advantage count again. With no shooting lanes open for Sitko, the big defenceman instead sent the puck across to Silvennoinen on the point, and he smashed home a slapshot, at 36.43. The Phoenix has still not learned the lesson that referee Boniface would call everything, and Hagelberg and Graham found themselves back in the bin. Again Romford took advantage, and again it was Silvennoinen with the goal, although this was a much easier goal, tapping in Marshall's pass at the far post, at 39.41.

It was game over early on in the 3rd period, when Harvey picked up a loose puck in the zone, and skated in on Fone, to fire it through his legs, at 43.57. Ed Courtenay gave the visiting side some brief hope, at 45.22, when Walker got the Romford defence looking the wrong way, and pulled the puck out from behind the goal, for the form NHL man to turn home. The Phoenix turned up the pressure in the final period, as Romford tired, but were unable to beat King again. It was Romford who got the final goal of the night, at 50.21, and it was the pick of the bunch. A long from defence from Marshall found Harvey on the centre line, and the young forward controlled the puck at knee height, before skating clear on the Fone, and sending a shot into the top corner, at 50.21. From then on it was just a case of waiting for the clock to run down, and when it did Romford celebrated a magnificent win.

Man of the match for Romford went to Marshall, with Luke Boothroyd the Phoenix choice.