Manchester Phoenix 6 Swindon Wildcats 3

Three goals in 71 seconds proved the turning point in a high-tempo battle that saw Manchester Phoenix get back to winning ways after two successive defeats.

Phoenix came into Sunday’s game after losing 5-2 away at league leaders Basingstoke Bison. They had been without first choice goalie Steve Fone and new backup Paul Maudsley had taken over.

Fone returned for the game against Swindon but forward Frantisek Bakrlik remained an injured absentee.

Robin Kovar grabbed the lead for Phoenix with a scrambled goal after five minutes, but Swindon created a period of sustained pressure and Steve Whitfield equalised on eight minutes. Wildcats’ potent forward lines continued to press and Jonas Hoog gave Swindon the lead just over a minute later.

The second period continued at the same frantic pace as Phoenix looked for an equaliser. Then the game turned in just over a minute. Michal Psurny found a way past Stevie Lyle on 30:44, and then Richard Bentham scored a lovely go-ahead goal on 31:08, perfectly tapping home a great pass by Liam Chong. Kovar scored his second with a bullet on 32:03 to give Phoenix a 4-2 lead over shell-shocked Swindon at the end of the second period.

Swindon came back again at the start of the final period, with Aaron Nell crashing in a third for the hard - working Wiltshire outfit on 43 minutes, but Michal Psurny restored Phoenix’s two goal lead two minutes later, tapping in a rebound that James Archer couldn’t quite convert after a huge slap shot from Robert Schnabel. Swindon were a constant danger in front of the Phoenix net as they chased a fourth goal, but Phoenix sealed the points on 54 minutes when Robin Kovar somehow managed to complete a close-range finish for his hat-trick after a massive goalmouth scramble.

Wildcats still pressed for a goal in the closing moments, but Phoenix took both points after a hard-fought battle that sees them in third place in the league, two points behind leaders Basingstoke Bison, who visit the Altrincham Ice Dome next Sunday 12 January, with the game starting at 5:30pm.