Peterborough Phantoms chase more cup glory

Corey McEwen in action against Basingstoke. Picture: Tom Scott

The city club entertain Basingstoke at Planet Ice (7.45pm) in the second leg of the NIHL South Cup semi-final.

Phantoms will hit their Bretton ice in possession of a 2-1 aggregate advantage after a fine first-leg triumph in Hampshire at the end of last month.

And now they are determined to finish the job and lift silverware in front of their own fans for the second time this season following their December triumph in the NIHL Autumn Cup.

Head coach Slava Koulikov said: “It would be a huge achievement to win two trophies in the same season.

“It was a great feeling to win the first available piece of silverware back in Decemeber and the boys have worked so hard to reach another final.

“We’re in a great position but we need everyone to give their all from the first puck-drop to the final buzzer.

“We have to battle for every puck, we have to compete for every bounce, we have to make every hit and bring our ‘A’ game to the party.

“Basingstoke will lay it all on the line and we have to live with the intensity and work-rate they will bring into our building.

“And if we manage to do all of those things, hopefully we can enjoy the same outcome as we did against Sheffield.

“Hopefully the fans will turn out as they did in that final and create the same sort of atmosphere they did that night.

“We’ve got a great set of fans who have been behind us all season on the road and at home. Hopefully we can pay them back with more success.”

The city club are attempting to win more than one trophy in a season for the third time in their 17-year history.

They completed an English Premier League and Cup double in their debut 2002/03 campaign and then enjoying a famous 2008/09 treble which featured league, cup and play-offs success.

Now, with the NIHL Autumn Cup already safely in their possession, they can double up again and lift the 10 piece of silverware of the Phantoms era.

The club also won the English Premier League Cup in 2003/04, landed the KO Cup at that level in 2007/08 and won the play-offs under Koulikov back in 2014/15.

Defenceman Nathan Long will feature after returning from Great Britain duty with at the World University Games, but young forward Jack Escott is a doubt with a shoulder injury.