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Courtenay brace not enough as Phoenix fall to the Bison

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Manchester Phoenix 2 - 4 Basingstoke Bison

Despite two more goals for Ed Courtenay, Manchester Phoenix saw another two valuable points slip away on Sunday night as the Basingstoke Bison took the spoils on the back of a solid team effort and an excellent display between the pipes by netminder Tom Annetts.

Phoenix player coach Tony Hand summed up his feelings after the game saying, "I was very conscious that we needed to bounce back after Thursdays' disappointment and whilst all round, we were better, we just couldn't get our noses in front. Basingstoke made the most of their opportunities and their special teams were very effective."

"They kept us at distance and even though we got back at them in the second period, they managed to pull away again and keep us at bay. We were better tonight, but right now it just seems as though a lot of what we try falls on stony ground. It's frustrating, but we won't lie down and accept it."

"We've still got a lot to play for and two big games against Milton Keynes and a home game against Slough to come are the perfect incentive we need to work even harder at correcting the errors and getting back to winning ways."

Phoenix were keen to erase the memory of their last home game and the opening exchanges saw them enjoy the better of the play. But a somewhat harsh Cross-Checking penalty on Tony Hand saw the visitors open the scoring in the tenth minute as his opposite number Steve Moria fired home on the powerplay. Phoenix upped the workrate, but when Moria intercepted a Hand pass on a Phoenix powerplay to release Ondrej Lauko, the Slovakian netted shorthanded for a two-nil lead at the first interval.

Phoenix roared back in the second session, determined to get back at the Bison, and the 25th minute saw Hand feed league-leading scorer Ed Courtenay and he crashed home on the powerplay. The home side were back on track and a little over three minutes later, Stephen Wallace and Hand combined to feed Courtenay and he buried his 44th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2. The next goal was always likely to be crucial and when Greg Wood was penalised for Hooking, the evergreen Moria fired the Bison back in front on the resulting powerplay. A late penalty on the Bison gave the Phoenix another powerplay opportunity, but the visitors stood firm to lead by the odd goal in five at the second break.

Into the final period and five minutes in, Basingstoke again opened up a two-goal advantage as Shaun Thompson took a pass from Sam Oakford to fire the shot past Steve Fone in the home goal. Phoenix re-doubled their efforts and laid some heavy pressure on the Bison goal, but a combination of some poor finishing, excellent defensive work by the visitors and a goalie in inspired form saw the home side unable to find a way through. Fone was pulled in favour of an extra skater with just under a minute to play, but even a last minute Bison penalty and a two-skater advantage for the home side wasn't enough to see them beat Annetts.

Bison Man of the Match Annetts beamed, "Naturally I was delighted to get the Man of the Match award, but this is a big victory for the team. They guys gave me great protection as we knew we had to try and shut down the Hand/Courtenay line. If we could keep them quiet, we knew we'd have a chance because they can score for fun if you give them time and space. It wa sa fine team performance and the bus ride home will be a lot of fun."