Metros put out the Blaze and complete their set
Trafford Metros 4 - 3 Coventry ENL Blaze
This was both the Metros and the Blaze' final league game of the season, and with both teams' league positions set in stone it could have been a dreary affair, but the Mets had a point to prove. Coventry were the only team that they hadn't beaten this season and Coventry, according to their website, wanted to beat their previous record points haul, as a win would see them hit the 30-point mark. After Trafford had reached the second interval 4 - 1 to the good, Coventry fought back in the third period to bring the Metros lead down to a single goal with 12 minutes left. End to end play followed and, despite tremendous Blaze pressure in the final five minutes, the Trafford defence held firm for a deserved victory.
The first period swung from end to end, with each side having short periods of dominance. Both nets held firm until a strange Metros goal came after a shade under nine minutes. Jamie Rogerson's shot proved too difficult for Blaze netminder, Stephen Doyle to hold with the rebound going into the net off a defender to make it one-nil after twenty minutes and still a very open game.
The second period gave the Mets their game winning lead, despite being outshot 13 - 7 in the twenty minutes. At 23.27 Sean Day scored his third of the season when he and Tom King swept down the ice from a Max Drakeley pass for Sean to score from the slot. A Coventry Hooking minor gave Trafford their first power-play of the game and Phoenix U-18s Captain, Marc Etherington, his debut goal when he fired home with assists from John Murray and Jake Nurse. Kieran Papps, from Scott Mulholland, pulled one back for Coventry a couple of minutes later to bring it to 3-1 and up the tension. A cracking slapshot from Metros' Man of the Match Brian Worrall, assists to Etherington and Murray, increased the Metros' lead and, in the end, proved to be the game winner.
Shortly after the half-way point in this period, on-ice official Leigh Hetherington, lining on the Mets' right was hit on the mouth by the puck, resulting in a nasty gash to the lip and cheek and removing one of her teeth. A sharp-eyed spot and swift work by the first aid team recovered the tooth and a very shaken Leigh left for hospital with her tooth in a cup of milk. The Metros and the Blaze both wish Leigh a swift and successful recovery.
The third period scoring was all by the Blaze. Two even handed goals at 43.11 (Rhys McWilliams from Thomas Pease) and at 47.42 (Tomas Ledgard (Blaze' MoM) from McWilliams and Antii Kohyaaka) brought the Blaze to within one of the Metros. The tension in the final ten minutes was palpable; with Coventry stepping up the pace into the final five minutes. They called a time-out with 90 seconds to go and the crowd was waiting for Doyle to be pulled from the Blaze' net. That happened with just eleven seconds remaining which was insufficient time for the out-skater advantage to tell. The Metros were, quite obviously, delighted to finish the season with a win in another cracking game against the Blaze.
A Metros' spokesman said: "Another close game against Coventry and again, very few penalties called in a very competitive and skilful match. A really superb outing for Under 18s' captain, Marc Etherington stepping into the ENL for the first time and getting a goal and an assist. It's a real shame that we have to wait until, at least, the middle of next month before we know which team we face in the play-off games. We'll have to work hard to maintain this momentum for the next five or six weeks. Good luck to the Blaze in their play-off group and congratulations to Division One champions: the Whitley Warriors. We sincerely hope that we'll be playing them all next season. Finally, we hope that Leigh recovers from her injury quickly and comfortably, I expect Facebook is the way to find out! We look forward to meeting her again next season."
Game Stats
Game played: Saturday 20th March
Metros Man of the Match: Brian Worrall
Shots on Goal (shots on Metros first): 30 - 26
Penalty minutes: Metros 12, Blaze 22.
Metros' stats: Marc Etherington 1+1, John Murray 0+2, Sean Day 1+0, Jamie Rogerson 1+0, Brian Worrall 1+0, Max Drakeley 0+1, Tom King 0+1, Jake Nurse 0+1.
Nets: Tom MacDonald (60 minutes) 30/3 90%
