Banners On The Road – Solent Junior Devils vs Peterborough Phantoms 2 16/3/24

Posted: 19/03/2024 | Author: | Filed under: Banners On The Road, NIHL | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

NIHL South 2

Solent Junior Devils 2-4 Peterborough Phantoms 2

Junior Devils: Russell, Peacock pp

Phantoms 2: N Pollard, White pp, Sansby, C Pollard

Keeping focussed: Nathan Pollard had jokingly warned me earlier in the day to bring my kit. When the Peterborough Phantoms NIHL 2 side started emerging from the dressing room, I realised that he hadn’t been joking. Other commitments meant that the visitors took to the ice in Gosport with 12 skaters and two netminders. This was after they all looked slightly confused by “the Gosport walk”, the need for the away team to enter the ice by circling round the back of the stand and in front of the fans to make it on to the ice.

The Junior Devils had taken advantage of a weekend off for the division one team having a weekend off to draft in some help. Junior Devils coach Harry Cloutman was available to play and roped in Joe Llewellyn, Kris Nekrosevicius, Jack Peacock and Cain Russell to assist with the effort.

Despite the depleted bench, it was a pretty even start to the game with shots in both directions. However, it was the visitors who struck first, a puck sitting up for Nathan Pollard to poke it by Rory Martin-Edwards in the Solent net in the third minute.

When Nekrosevicius was called for tripping, the Phantoms quickly made the advantage pay. They had to ride out a shorthanded chance, crafted by Charlie Wedge out of seemingly nothing, but the visitors broke up ice at speed. James White took the lay off from Jordan Ho, skated in and snapped it over the glove of Martin-Edwards. The visitors were 2-0 to the good inside 6 minutes and the Devils had barely had a chance to establish themselves.

Having had that punch in the face, the Junior Devils woke up. They upped the intensity, pushed Peterborough onto the back foot and shifted the momentum of the game. The issue was that Ryan Bainborough in the Phantoms’ net was making all the stops. Ashley Barnes was denied at the top of the crease, Wedge and Peacock had chances turned away. The visitors soaked up the pressure and the first buzzer went with the Devils left scratching their head as to how to make a breakthrough.

The second period started with both teams having opportunities and early pokes to try and establish themselves, but it was something less direct that put the Phantoms further in front. A hard drive from outside the zone whistled past the Devils’ net and slammed off of the end boards. Martin-Edwards had moved across to cover the shot but the rebounding puck didn’t die at the wall and instead launched itself over the crossbar and back in front of the net. With the netminder out of position and looking the wrong way, he couldn’t react quickly enough as Jack Sansby was on hand to fire home for 3-0 with just 2.05 of the period gone.

The game then took on a very even tone. It was just a good back and forth encounter for a solid 10 minutes. The encounter felt much more like a 0-0 than a 3-0 as the two sides created chances. Both netminders were frequently called into action but both were standing tall.

Just after the midway point came a glimmer of light for Solent. Callum Worthington-Evans was called for a penalty that I didn’t see the signal for and wasn’t announced over the tanoy but he had to sit for regardless. The Devils’ powerplay unit set to work and eventually got their deserved reward with Cain Russell taking the feed from Charlie Wedge and firing home to blot Bainborough’s copybook.

There was a bit of a pushback from the visitors in response, Martin Edwards needing to turn away White and Nathan Pollard in short order, the later seeing the Phantoms’ player/coach crash into the goal frame which saw the game delayed whilst he got in a position to move again.

The Devils came out of that break the better side, recovering the momentum of the game. A rush to the net saw Bainborough stay down hurt after the Devils’ forward was crosschecked into the Phantoms’ backstop gifting the hosts a powerplay inside the last minute of the second frame.

Martin-Edwards was forced into stopping a late shorthanded chance from the recovered Nathan Pollard and the Devils took advantage after the period break. Bainborough was forced into two or three stops in short order before the puck was fed high for Jack Peacock to step into the shot and blast it into the back of the net at 40.55. The game was on.

The problem for the visitors was that they were starting to look tired. This wasn’t unreasonable given the short bench but with the momentum against them and the legs getting a bit slower, the Devils started to turn the screw.

The hosts started having all the chances and all the momentum. Wedge went close multiple times but not as close as Oliver Cackett. With the Phantoms defence stretched and Bainborough scrambling, the young forward fired through the melee to see his shot ring off the inside of the left post and bounce out.

A hooking penalty to Kevin McAllister wasn’t helpful for the hosts but the penalty killing unit did its job with aplomb, stopping Peterborough from getting a clean shot on net for the duration of the man advantage. The Devils would get their own powerplay late as Sam Barlow was called for interference, but they still couldn’t find a way through as the final stages loomed.

Peterborough knew what they needed to do; push the Devils back. Knowing that they’d be looking to pull Martin-Edwards for the extra attacker, they needed to get the puck deep not give them the chance. However, Conor Pollard had a better idea. When the puck fell to him at the hashmarks, he turned and aimed for the top corner of the net. The puck came off his stick faster than Martin-Edwards could lift his glove. At 4-2 with 1.25 left , the game fizzled to its conclusion and the points left with the Phantoms.

I’ve seen the Solent Junior Devils win, I’ve seen them absolutely smashed and then there was this where they were arguably a bit unlucky. Getting in a load of the division 1 guys to help out was certainly a good idea. It made the roster well rounded in terms of its overall ability. What they were a bit guilty of was just lacking that clinical edge to really see them over the line.

Aside from the fact that Rory Martin-Edwards will want the third goal back, that was a horror show on all fronts for the Devils, this was a decent and accomplished performance from Harry Cloutman’s side. They maybe suffered from thinking too hard and not thinking smart on occasions, but the effort was there and they skated with Peterborough and didn’t ever look out of the game. Martin-Edwards faced over 50 shots in the game so one howler aside, he gave his team the chance to win. It just didn’t fall for them on the night.

How that plays into the cup quarter final will be interesting. Ice availability means that their playoff quarter final with Guildford has become a one game shootout at the Spectrum. The Solent division one side will be in Gillingham so there will be no division one guys available and the mammoth task of facing down the league champions on their turf. The Devils will be realistic about their chances, but they have a punchers chance. They just have to find a way with what they have. Their season comes down to one single game, do or die. Their fate is now in their hands.

This was my first-time seeing Peterborough and whilst it’s hard to get a real feel for them when they travelled so short, I can see why they made the South 2 cup final. Depleted or not, the majority of their top 6 was there. Both Pollard brothers and Taylor Romeo have played much higher than this as has James White with Jordan Ho having played at IIHF worlds for Hong Kong. Combined with Ryan Bainborough, a netminder who significant experience with the Phantoms main team, that’s a formidable opponent in South 2.

Ultimately, they had a good strategy which was to soak up pressure when it came and use their skill to craft out what they could. It worked. It did get dicey at times and the legs were probably very stiff the day after but where Solent weren’t clinical, they were. Being 3-0 up and letting Solent back in won’t sit well but that has to be tempered by the fact that so few bodies can only do so much. At the death, when it mattered, Conor Pollard’s shot ended all resistance. At full strength they will be dangerous.

Man of the match went to Romford junior Phil Maguire who at 16 looks a real prospect. Triple registered with the u18s and Buccaneers as well as the Phantoms 2, Maguire isn’t a huge body at the moment but his positioning and hockey sense appear to be high for the level. I can see why the Buccaneers are using him.

The Phantoms do not have an opponent locked in just yet, results on the last weekend will determine things but Cardiff is a possibility for them which would be tough. The Fire are the only team to beat Guildford so far though in my brief chat with Nathan Pollard he felt they matched up well with the Welsh side.

Will both these sides make Alexandra Palace? Probably not, Solent’s battle is gargantuan for that but buried away in front of 40-50 people on the south coast was two teams preparing themselves for what’s to come, that puncher’s chance at glory to end the season.

As it was the last game of the season, the Junior Devils gathered at centre ice to say goodbye to the campaign. It’s one where they’ve outperformed the year before and secured post-season hockey for themselves. It’s one where I think Harry Cloutman and his coaching team can take a great deal of pride in what they’ve achieved even if their season likely ends in two weekends’ time.

As the Peterborough Phantoms headed to their cars, I can’t help but think Nathan Pollard has something more than a valiant end to the season on his mind.

Lowlight of the night: I get why it wasn’t well attended but a shame there weren’t more people there.

Highlight of the night: The game itself. Would have been easy for either side to phone it in and they didn’t. A game played in the right spirit.