Bison Express Surges On

After the unpleasant scenes at last Sunday's Phoenix v Bison game when Bison were boo-ed off the ice, it was great to see sportsmanship and camaraderie of the best kind from both sets of fans last night, particularly the Phoenix faithful who made the journey, applauding Stevie Lyle onto the ice and both sets of fans giving generous applause to both teams at the end of a great game. During the game a Phoenix player grabbed the net and pulled it off its moorings (didn't see who it was but it was very obviously to all) to relieve the pressure on the net. It wasn't spotted by the ref. After the usual howls of protect from the crowd, fans and players alike just got on with the game. Players of all teams get away with what they can - it's all part of the game. I was very encouraged to feel that there will be no bad blood between Bison and Phoenix after last Sunday. Let's keep the vitriol and tribalism in the football grounds. If there are any Phoenix fans reading this, lets have a drink together at the playoffs.

Bison Express Surges On

Bison 5 Manchester Phoenix 2

1/12/12

The Bison faithful and their counterparts who had made the long journey down from Manchester were treated to a cracking game of hockey at Planet Ice last night between the best two teams in the EPL. Bison grabbed the points, but Phoenix fans can be very proud of their team, who outshot Bison and dominated long periods of play. Bison won it with a resolute defense and another outstanding goaltender display from Stonewall Stevie Lyle. A string of blocks, catches and saves denied the Phoenix sharpshooters throughout the game. The other feature of the encounter was Bison’s clinical finishing with 5 goals scored from only 22 on target shots at Steve Fone. The legendary Annie Oakley, who could shoot a playing card in half edge on firing her Winchester rifle backwards over her shoulder using a mirror to sight it, so it is said, would have been impressed with the accuracy of Bison’s shooting.

It took Bison only 3 minutes to power into the lead. Receiving the puck from James “No Nickname Yet” Smith, Lumberjack Joe Rand powered forward on the boards and then fired a centring pass to Andy “Machine Gun” Melachrino, who hammered in the scoring shot with the same degree of clinical efficiency with which a Mafia hit man would despatch his victim, although in this case, thankfully, the only weapon he was carrying was his stick. 

Phoenix continued to press and in one attack a clash of sticks saw Joachim Flaten’s fly high into the air like a majorette’s baton. The clash of sticks looked harmless enough and it led the Desperate Dan lookalike to hypothesise that Flaten must have been holding his implement with a “girlie grip”. The puck and indeed Flaten himself continued in a forward direction and the disarmed forward had no option but to kick the puck (who needs Lionel Messi). 

On 10 minutes it was 2-0 Bison. Steve Fone looked up and saw something rapidly approaching through the neutral zone. Was it the Deadwood Stage a-comin’ on over the hill? No it was Maple Leaf Doug Sheppard skating forward faster than a stampeding longhorn. Coach Sheppard deked and drew Fone to his right. Bouncing Czech, Jaroslav Cesky, had hammered forward with electric pace in support, the arena lights glinting off his skate blades like the sun’s rays off ……something shiny. Fone was in a great position to stop the shot, but instead Doug fired across to Jaro, who backhanded the puck into the Grand Canyon of a gap between goaltender and post created by Doug’s clever deke. 

With the minutes ticking down Greg “the Specs” Owen was sent down the steps (well actually up one) for slashing and in the resultant power play Bison nearly snatched a shorthander with Coach Sheppard setting up Greg “Chubbs” Chambers, whose powerful shot went wide. To concede another goal at that stage would have been as undesirable to the visitors as the scrapings from Frank Cannon’s shoulder holster (Google him if you’re under 40), but they survived and indeed came on very strong in the 5 on 4 with Lyle pulling off a series of good blocks and saves to deny the Phoenix marksmen.

Phoenix pressure paid off at the beginning of the second. Flaten and Hand set up Ondrej Pozivil to fire in a rocket of a wrist shot. Lyle saw it coming and raised his blocker, but it was too late. The net was already bulging. It was a one goal game at 2-1. 9 minutes later it was no longer a one goal game with Andy “Machine Gun” Melachrino restoring Bison’s 2 goal advantage. Huge credit must go to Lumberjack Joe Rand for setting up the chance. Down on the ice he still managed to poke a pass into the slot and there was Melachrino firing from the hip to send a top shelfer past the hapless Fone. It was like a drive by shooting from “Machine Gun” or, more correctly, a skate by shooting. Second assist went to new blueline signing James “Starsky” Hutchinson.

3 minutes later a slap shot from Luke Boothroyd smashed straight into Lyle’s mask. The Bespectacled Youth, goaltender extraordinaire, informs me that when that happens it really sets your ears a-ringing, but Stonewall Stevie was soon fit to continue. Whether he was still feeling the effects 2 minutes later is unclear, but he did fail to stop a second Phoenix goal. To be fair he had little chance as Richard Bentham set James Neil free to carry the puck up the right wing and centre for Bison old boy, Long Ciaron Long, to smash in a snap shot for 3-2.

In the final minute of the 2^nd Boothroyd had his collar felt for holding. It appeared to the occupants of Block C that the famous Howling Man had found religion as he raised his arms Heavenwards and shouted “Oh Hallelujah”, but it soon became clear he was merely celebrating the call, rather than answering the call.

At 3-2 and with Phoenix looking ever dangerous, there were some worried faces amongst the Bison faithful during the second interval. The glass of the Bearded Rabble Rouser of Block A drained to half empty as he discussed the possibility of overtime and even a shoot out to the Man in the Charlestown Chiefs shirt. The Chiefs Man, whose glass is always half empty, did not disagree. However, events in the 3rd period proved them to be nothing but dastardly pessimists. There was no such pessimism on the ice as Bison sealed the win with two unanswered goals to romp home winners by 5-2. The scoreline made it look comfortable, but comfortable it was not with Phoenix again outshooting (13-5 in this period), but failing to find a way past the breeze block wall that is Stevie Lyle.

The 4-2 goal came with Boothroyd still serving time for his Hallelujah holding offense carried over from Period 2, Bison had their cake and ate it as they added to their feast of goals with another plum effort. It was a breakaway as simple as meat and two veg. The Bison power play unit had bobbed and weaved in and around the Phoenix defense as elusively as so many croutons floating in a bowl of minestrone, but had failed to bring home the bacon. Suddenly Greg “Chubbs” Chambers discovered that there is such a thing a free lunch as he found acres of space to serve up the puck to Maple Leaf Doug on a plate. Never mind jam tomorrow, it was truly jam today for Doug as he raced clear, as quickly as if he were doing a runner from a restaurant without paying the bill. The Phoenix blueliners just could not yoke Coach Sheppard as he sizzled forward with the puck. He chomped up the ice, and put a peach of a backhander past Fone after some tasty deking. If Chubbs was the fish and chips, Doug had provided the salt and vinegar on top.

The clinching goal came with 8 minutes remaining. Once again Bison’s speed and clinical finishing undid the resolute Phoenix blueline. Coach Sheppard didn’t need logarithms to calculate his pass out of defense (what are logarithms anyway – things that scuttle about in attics?). It was inch/centimetre perfect. James “No Nickname” Smith skated forward like crazy, at the double, post haste, pronto, chop-chop and PDQ and with the speed, velocity and pace of a bat out of hell, not to mention a rat up a drainpipe. Keeping pace with him in the inside right position was Bouncing Czech, Jaroslav Cesky skating forward faster than Lance Armstrong cycling to the US Postal Team motor home for a blood transfusion. It was a 2 on 2, but the Phoenix D-men were powerless to prevent the goal. A pinpoint pass from “No Nickname” to Jaro and a clinical finish made it 5-2 and game over.

Phoenix continued to press forward to bring a degree of respectability to the score, which would have been only just considering their splendid performance, but found Bison to be a team of Scrooges giving nothing away. Bah Humbug! The Bison management proved more generous with cases of beer doled out to men of the match Sheppard and Long. A pulsating game and a fine advert for hockey not to mention sportsmanship, both teams receiving well deserved generous applause from both sets of supporters at the end (as it should be).