LONDON, UK – Bracknell Bees and Peterborough Phantoms booked their place at the Final Four weekend in Coventry as each progressed to the NIHL 1 South Play-Off final.
Bees stun the Link Centre (Kat Medcroft)
The Bees earned their place in the NIHL showpiece with a stunning 8-5 aggregate win over league Champions Swindon Wildcats.
The Cats looked to have gained a slight advantage after grinding out a 2-2 tie in the first leg at the Hive. Goals from Chris Jones and Jonas Hoog kept things level for Swindon with an Aidan Doughty double doing the business for Bracknell.
The Bees went on to stun the home crowd at the Link Centre by skating off with a 6-3 win the following night in the second leg.
Early goals from Ryan Sutton and Doughty again put the Bees in command and they never looked back. A brace from Roman Malinik and lone goals for Shaun Thompson and Tyler VanKleef sealed a famous win for Doug Sheppard and his side.
Wildcats scorers were Jonas Hoog with two and Sam Jones with the other.
The result goes a long way to redeeming a disappointing league campaign for a Bees team tipped for honours at the start of the season.
Their opponents will be the blue and orange machine, namely the Peterborough Phantoms. Slava Koulikov’s men booked their place in the final with a hard fought 8-5 aggregate win over last year’s Play-Off winners Basingstoke Bison.
Peterborough heading to Coventry (Phantoms Images)
The Phantoms earned a precious 3-2 road win in the first leg thanks to goals from Jarvis Hunt, Petr Stepanek and Martins Susters. Bison scorers were Hallam Wilson and George Norcliffe.
The second leg was pretty much a re-run of the Cup final a few weeks ago as the Bison looked to win in Cambridgeshire to take the spoils.
Once again the Phantoms showed their steel and won 5-3 on the night, with an empty netter from Stepanek sparking scenes of celebration amongst the home crowd. Phantoms others scorers were Scott Robson, Jason White, James Ferrara and Will Weldon. Scorers for the Bison were Richard Bordowski with a brace and a lone goal for Norcliffe again.
The results mean that the players and coaching staff from the Bison and Wildcats can slip on the speedos and go camping on the continent, while the Bees and Phantoms squads contemplate a final next weekend and then Coventry the weekend after.
Results – Play-Offs semi finals
Basingstoke Bison 5 Peterborough Phantoms 8 (on aggregate)
Swindon Wildcats 5 Bracknell Bees 8 (on aggregate)
The All-Star team will be announced this week with the Britton Conference Player of the Year announced at Coventry. Tickets for the Final Four are selling well and more details can be found here.
Contact the author carrsy2@gmail.com
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