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Joe sends Phantoms bolting into the final - Phantoms 4 Bees 3
PHANTOMS 4 BRACKNELL BEES 3 (EPL Cup semi-final, second leg - Phantoms win 6-4 on aggregate)
PHANTOMS 4
BRACKNELL BEES 3
(EPL Cup semi-final, second leg - Phantoms win 6-4 on aggregate)IT took Usain Bolt 9.69 seconds to win Olympic gold but Joe Miller needed a fraction of that time to put Phantoms in the EPL Cup final last night.
Such was the speed of Miller's late drive which finally wrested control of an epic clash with Bracknell, even the record-breaking Jamaican would have been impressed.
So after handing his side what proved to be a crucial 5-4 aggregate lead, Phantoms' very own Welsh wizard decided to show us his own version of Bolt's famous smoking gun victory celebration.
And the euphoric posturing was understandable in this instance as the goal completed a remarkable comeback at the Peterborough Arena.
Trailing 3-0 with time running out in the third period, Phantoms' cup hopes looked finished.
But goals from Shaun Yardley, Lewis Buckman, Miller and Craig Peacock in a frantic final 10 minute spell saw the tie turned on it's head.
And while it was Peacock's supremely well-taken empty netter which made sure of the result, there was no doubting the star of the show.
"When it went in the whole place went mad so I decided to copy Bolt''s celebration, said man-of-the-match Miller.
"I am a big fan of his so it was a bit of tribute to him but also for my powerplay line who were awesome tonight.
"We always had belief that we could do it and once 'Yards' scored we really knew it was on.
"We don't care who we get in the final now. If we play like that and work hard for each other we can beat anyone."
And there was plenty of hard work in this match both on and off the ice with Phantoms coach Colin Patterson and his opposite number Pete Russell fighting a battle of wits from the very first buzzer.
It was clearly Russell's intention to ruffle the Canadian by changing his starting line three times as the players prepared to begin the game.
But Phantoms' very own hockey professor is a man not easily ruffled and once play eventually got under way, it was his side making the early running with Buckman, Maris Ziedins and Brent Gough in particular all going close in the opening exchanges.
As the game wore on, however, the visitors began to find their feet and both Peter Jasik and Milos Melicherik forced fine saves from Stephen Wall.
Chances came and went as Phantoms began the middle act once more at a high tempo, but with those chances not being taken, the game slowly began to tilt in Bracknell's favour.
Andrius 'Bomber' Kaminskas was putting himself about with increasingly bruising effects while Jasik and new boy Matti Hietakangas were also giving James Morgan and Dwayne Newman plenty to think about.
So it was no real surprise when Jasik took advantage of the increasing openings his side were creating to unload from the blueline with a shot that sizzled past Wall's outstretched glove and into the top left corner.And a minute before the end of the period it got worse for Wall when Kaminskas' shot deflected out to Adam Greener who slid the puck back through the stranded keeper's legs to make it 3-2 to the visitors on aggregate.
Then, five minutes into the final period, it looked all over when Hietakangas slid home Bracknell's third from Jasik's clever pass.
The only hope was that Phantoms' luck in front of goal would change – and with 10 minutes to go it finally did.
After surging down the left, James Spurr picked out man-of-the-match contender Yardley who showed his profligate team-mates how it should be done with a cool first time finish at the back post.
Suddenly it was game on again and Yardley was at the heart of things again, bustling his way into possession behind Rockman's goal before picking out Buckman who finished well to make it 3-2.
With the momentum back in their favour, Miller's goal saw Phantoms snatch back a 5-4 aggregate lead, but further drama was to follow when both Morgan and Newman were ordered to the penalty box for the last two minutes.
This left Phantoms defending a six on three powerplay after Bees pulled Rockman but amid the chaos Peacock kept his cool magnificently to make sure with seven seconds to go.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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