‘I couldn’t ask any more of them,’ says Koulikov

Petr Stepanek is congratulated by team-mate Martins Susters after scoring Phantoms third goal.

The hard-working city side reeled off three victories in four days in two different competitions.

Their demanding run began with a 4-2 victory at Hull in the opening leg of an NIHL National Cup semi-final last Thursday and was followed by a valuable four-point weekend in the NIHL National Division.

Phantoms eased past bottom side Leeds on Saturday to claim a 6-3 ‘away’ success in a game actually played at Planet Ice before fighting back on countless occasions to edge out Sheffield 6-5 the following night.

“It has been a really busy spell of hockey for the guys in a tough month,” said Koulikov.

“We have 11 games in total in January – including the two legs of the semi-final – and that puts a lot of strain on them. Virtually all of our guys have to fit hockey around their other jobs.

“I couldn’t ask any more of them and to come out of this little run with three wins is a really good achievement.

“We knew it wouldn’t be an easy weekend coming off the back of a Thursday night game, but we managed to get through it.

“Leeds looked dangerous on Saturday. They came out with a lot of energy but we got a grip of the game and picked up the win we needed.

“It was a game full of entertainment for a pretty big crowd on Sunday.

“A lot of credit goes to Sheffield for the part they played in it as they came with a really good gameplan.

“But my guys deserve even bigger credit for what they have done in the last few days.

“We knew there might be more mistakes due to the amount of games we’ve had, but we stayed strong mentally and we showed our character in a great ending to the game.

“The way we closed the game out – and how our big players showed up when it was really tight - was absolutely amazing.”

The four-point weekend allowed Phantoms to climb back into third position in the NIHL National Division.

It’s a position they defend during two games against the team directly below them this weekend.

Phantoms travel to Basingstoke on Saturday (6.30pm) before welcoming the Bison to Bretton on Sunday (5.30pm).

The Hampshire side are a point behind Phantoms but boast three games in hand.

Koulikov added: “We’re very close to each other in the table so it is a very important double-header.

“We’re going into it off the back of three wins in a row and the challenge for us is to try to continue building momentum.”

Young forward Jarvis Hunt is a doubt for Phantoms after injuring a shoulder against Leeds last Saturday while Gareth O’Flaherty could return from concussion.