Telford Tigers had their penalty-killing unit to thank after a dramatic night on Deeside ended in a 3-2 victory over Manchester Phoenix.
Tom Watkins’ men were temporarily two players down during the third period on Saturday evening, before losing Andre Makrov on the stroke on full time.
Neither Manchester powerplay ended in a goal for the hosts, as Telford hung on to claim two points with a late overtime strike.
Head coach Watkins, who must now prepare for Sunday’s visit of Sheffield – praised his side’s defensive efforts during those shorthanded periods.
He said: “I thought it was a great win tonight and two hard-fought points. We dug in and killed penalties, especially when we were five on three. That gave us the chance to win.
“Your netminder has to be your best penalty killer and Sam Gospel was fantastic for us tonight. He came up with some big saves, tracked the puck well and controlled his rebounds.”
Manchester took an early lead after just one minute at Deeside Leisure Centre, before Max Birbraer replied for Telford a few moments later.
The hosts regained their advantaged at the halfway point of the period, as they rebuffed a heavy bombardment from the Tigers forwards.
Dan Davies made it 2-2 with a powerplay goal on 48 minutes, while Manchester were unable to break through Telford’s stubborn penalty killing line.
And despite losing Makrov to a tripping penalty just before overtime, the county men secured victory with a 62nd-minute strike from Sam Zajac.
Watkins added: “We didn’t have a great first period and although we had some good chances, we didn’t manage the puck well.
“It was a much better second period and the guys created some excellent opportunities to score. I felt we should have been up at that point, but it was the special teams that won it for us tonight.”
The Tigers are back in action on Sunday night, when they host Sheffield Steeldogs at Telford Ice Rink (6pm). For tickets, go to www.tigershockeyuk.com.
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