Ultimate Windows-sponsored Billingham Stars put up another hardworking display against higher level opposition in the British Challenge Cup on Sunday evening, eventually going down 9-3 at Peterborough Phantoms.
The Teessiders made the journey south with a squad decimated by injury, illness and unavailability, with seven senior players missing including both netminders.
Peterborough loaned the Stars their under-18s goaltender Josh Wicks to enable the game to go ahead.
The home side opened their account in the sixth minute when Martins Susters converted at the far post, but Billingham fought back and were handed a power play opportunity less than two minutes later, captain Paul Windridge equalising with a first-time shot from four metres out in the ninth minute.
The Stars’ joy was short-lived as the Phantoms restored their advantage less than a minute later, Luke Ferrara slotting home a pass from Slava Koulikov.
Billingham were unlucky not to draw level once more in the 14th minute. However the hosts broke from their own zone and Will Weldon made it 3-1 when it could so easily have been a 2-2 game.
Peterborough looked home and dry in the 17th minute when Weldon was given too much time to pick his man and Ferrara was there to poach his second of the evening for a 4-1 period lead.
The Stars came out for the middle session looking hungrier and calling Phantoms’ metminder Dan Lane into action more and more as the period wore on.
Against the run of play, Peterborough extended their lead in the 28th minute, Thomas Norton poking the puck past Wicks, but Billingham were not to be denied and Thomas Stuart-Dant pulled one back a minute later when he broke from inside his own zone before letting fly from the right-hand circle for 5-2.
The Stars kept up the pressure and were duly rewarded in the 36th minute when Stuart-Dant first-timed the puck past Lane after being set up from behind the net by Ben Davison.It looked like the visitors would go into the dressing room just two goals down but with seven seconds remaining Ferrara grabbed his hat-trick with a shot through a crowd, a screened Wicks left with no chance to save.
The late goal seemed to take some of the wind out of Billingham’s sails, and with tired legs becoming evident the visitors fell further behind just 19 seconds into the final period, Weldon with a speculative shot straight through Wicks’ pads.
The goal of the night came from Bradley Moore with exactly 44 minutes gone as he picked his spot in the roof of Wicks’ net for 8-3.
Despite coming into the game cold, the young keeper pulled off three good saves as the Phantoms began to assert their authority, but he could do nothing about the deflection that took the puck under his arm as Nathan Pollard scored the hosts’ ninth and last goal in the 53rd minute for a final score of 9-3.
Man-of-the-Match for the Stars was Andy Munroe.
Phantoms Stats: Luke Ferrara 3+1; Will Weldon 2+1; Martins Susters 1+1; Bradley Moore 1+1; Thomas Norton 1+0; Nathan Pollard 1+0; Slava Koulikov 0+3; Scott Robson 0+2; Cameron McGiffin 0+1; Greg Pick 0+1; Edgars Apelis 0+1; Jason Buckman 0+1
SOG Dan Lane 26 (8 / 13 / 5)
Stars Stats: Thomas Stuart-Dant 2+1; Paul Windridge 1+0; Ben Davison 0+2; Matthew Campbell 0+2; Chris Sykes 0+1
SOG Josh Wicks 30 (10 / 7 / 13)
The Stars’ Director of Coaching Terry Ward felt that the score line did not do his tired side justice: “Nine-three flatters the Phantoms, there’s no doubt about that.
“They got a couple of deflected goals which gave them a greater margin of victory than they deserved.
“You can’t knock the commitment and the work rate of the guys who travelled - we scored three goals and came back into the game in the second period. It’s really pleasing as a coach to see us creating those chances, when you’re playing the professional teams it’s nice to know that you can create chances against them and score goals.”
Billingham return to National Ice Hockey League (N) Moralee Division 1 action on Saturday when they travel to Dumfries to take on reigning champions Solway Sharks, face off 7pm.
Weekend Results: Challenge Cup: Peterborough Phantoms 9 Billingham Stars 3; Sheffield Steeldogs 7 Blackburn Hawks 1
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