Trafford Sport

Manchester Phoenix 2010-11 season preview

By Kyle Green

10:17am Tuesday 7th September 2010

MANCHESTER Phoenix begin their new season in the English Premier League this week and after a summer of re-tooling, player coach Tony Hand and his team are raring to go with a War of the Roses clash this weekend.

Phoenix will travel across the Pennines on Friday (10th) to face the Sheffield Steeldogs before returning to the Altrincham Ice Dome on Sunday for the returning fixture.

Tony Hand made his final signing last week in the shape of Slovakian defenceman Ladislav Harabin who will join new boys Pavel Gomenyuk and Ben Morgan on the blueline along with returnees Luke Boothroyd and Ben Wood. On his final signing, Hand said of Harabin: “He competes, he's aggressive, he hits like a truck and he scores goals. He's a very talented player and the fans will love him.

“He will be one of the premier players in this league there is no doubt about it”

Last season, Phoenix, whilst scoring the most goals in the league, conceded far too many and this season Hand has brought in two experienced import defencemen to play alongside the young Brits in front of returnee netminder Steve Fone in an attempt to steady the ship.

Fone had an up and down first season for the Phoenix, an early Christmas present in the form of a separated shoulder disrupted the teams good form and despite Adam Summerfield coming away with a winning record including a 5-4 overtime victory against Milton Keynes Lightning, it proved to be the turning point in a season that started well.

Fone’s best performance came in the playoff quarterfinal home leg against Peterborough, guiding the team to the finals weekend in Coventry. If he can have an injury free year, there’s no reason why he cannot build on last season and push for the title this time around.

Going forward, lightweight players like Iain Bowie, Adam Walker and Robert Lachowicz have been replaced with the hard working Dean Holland and grafters Tom Duggan and James Archer. Paired with the signing of Swedish import Marcus Kristoffersson, Phoenix, are now an entirely different proposition than last season.

Last seasons sniper Ed Courtenay retired mid way through the campaign, his replacement Curtis Huppe, has played with Hand before at Belfast Giants. Phoenix fans will be hoping the forward can repeat his feat of 64 points in 46 games for Coventry Blaze back in 07/08 season.

Finally, Hand has also retained the services of forwards Greg Wood, Stephen Wallace and James Neil and they complete a team that looks to be the most balanced Phoenix side to date with two imports on defence and two going forward.

Phoenix begin their quest for silverware a week after their War of the Roses double header, with an away trip to Basingstoke Bison on the 18th September before returning to Altrincham to take on last seasons playoff champions Slough Jets on Sunday.

• Email this page