The Manchester Phoenix Podcast

Listen to the show right here. Well, not content with being winning the League, those little upstarts have swatted the Bees and have secured their spot in the hockey jamboree next weekend! The Bees are a persistent lot and, whilst many were anticipating a goal deficit or maybe a draw on the away leg, most were predicting a win. The Bees put up the sort of fight that kept people guessing throughout though and it was not settled until the last 10 minutes of the 120 minutes.  That, ladies and gentlement, is what playoff hockey is made of. So, the time for the road tip of the year is upon us and we'll be facing the Swindon Wildcats on the Saturday.  That's no easy ask, especially after they knocked-out the MK boys on their "home" ice.  It is, really in every sense, on. And what of the podcast? Join this group to find out: Playoffs Live 2014 on Facebook Listen to the shows LIVE here: http://www.spreaker.com/show/the_phoenix_podcast_show  You can listen from your mobile phone in the car, on the way or even in your hotel room when getting ready. Or in the beer garden of the Windmill! Saturday 5th April live from 10.30am Sunday 6th April live from 1pm

I hope you like interviews because that's what we have for you this week.  Listen right here. We had yet another attack of the tech gremlin that lives in our recording devices.  I think that my Yamaha recorder may be retiring just like some Peterborough fans say Tony Hand should. Anyway, we are joined on the show (for the first time!) by Jacob Corson-Heron as we talk playoffs, places on the bench, ice time and coaching.  This is a very honest and open interview from the winner of the 2014 Unsung Hero Award at Phoenix.  At the podcast, we think he deserves it so much that it might as well have been made for him. We also have a bit of a chat with Anna from PTV and we catch up with Treeve Sperrin of Sperrin Brewery to find out all about the rather exciting Fiery Phoenix real ale that awaits us on Spon Street, Coventry. We'd also like to take a minute or two to introduce you to the guys and girls at 123-reg.co.uk and to tell you how to get onto them for your website and domain needs. Oh, yeah!  And WE WON THE BLOOMIN' LEAGUE!

Listen to the show right here. As the Phoenix stormed to their second EPL League Title, the Ice Dome rumbled like an irritated juggernaut and a proper hockey battle unfolded before the assembled masses. What was witnessed was a truly immense game from both teams and a demonstration of what grit, determination and bloody-mindedness can do when it wears a hockey jersey. Assuming that you are still breathing and that your eyes and ears are not bleeding, you make it through to the final throws of this epic EPL season... As Bison take their Cup victory and Phoenix snare the League Title, there is one more bit of tin left on the shelf and both these mammoth performers will want a double.  What comes next is a warm up weekend for a clash of the giants in the 2014 Playoffs. Wowser!

Listen to the show right here. There's not much you can say when your team has played 3 games across 3 days and has won them all.  That's some ask, especially at this point in the season. The League title is tantalisingly close and only Bison can really stop the Phoenix lifting the Cup.  Things are looking good for the playoffs too. In short, there's everything to play for and there's no better motivator than that. This week's battles are here, summed-up in 38 minutes. Also, Stuart tries his hand at producing... Saturday night will see Phoenix dealing with the Flames (after a tough away stint in Peterborough).  Then the new kid with the cool trainers will be attempting to get revenge against Phoenix on the Sunday night away jaunt to Telford. Finally, congrats to Jacob Corson-Heron for his MOM award tonight :-) Enjoy the show!

Listen to the show right here. A few games to talk about this week.  Firstly, the Telford Tigers away jaunt was probably one of the best games the Phoenix have seen this season. Next up was the rather less glorious away trip to Basingstoke.  It didn't end well and there were lessons to learn. Finally, the Sunday night visit of the Bracknell Bees.  An altogether quieter affair but with two goals conceded to a considerably weaker side (missing Galazzi and Wiggins), still some lessons to learn, maybe? All of that gets chewed over by the Podcast team and we are joined by James Neil to have a chat about the shape of things to come. Enjoy and please spread the show around to as many hockey friends as you like.

Listen to this week's show here. After a rocky run of late, this was a must-win for the boys and it was clear from the offset that they were in no mood to let the Phantoms fix their form at Altrincham Ice Dome. It was a game that felt a little tepid at times but there were moments of excitement and tempers flared at times as old scores were at the forefront of players' minds. Talking of tempers, we caught up with Ben Wood at the end of the show to talk about his behaviour or late and whether he is turning into a reprobate and ruffian.  He swears that he isn't.  We are not convinced. In any event, the usual levels of expert punditry, snark and inaccuracy are brought to you this week by a sense of fair play and admiration for Russian goal-moorings.

Listen to the show right here. The second of the midweek shows for the Cup semi-finals is here and it was certainly one with a variety of surprises, twists, turns and tantrums.  And that was just in the car park. The Lightning go on to face the Bison in the final and the Phoenix are out of the running for the treble. Well done MK.  Well done.

Have a listen right here. It was never going to be a pleasant Sunday game with the Dogs visiting Altrincham and they were on their usual form.  Kudos to Mr Sedlar though. He was immense in the net for the Steeldogs and he faced a lot of rubber from frustrated Phoenix forwards. Still, this bitted pill is sweetened slightly by the two points taken from the Flames on Saturday.  And the results around the league on Sunday. Onwards and upwards, it seems.  MKL visit the Dome on Thursday night with a cup-final in their sights.  They know how close they came to nailing Phoenix on Wednesday last and they will not want to have a re-run of that final period. Make your way to the Dome for this exciting and gritty fixture and forget about the night the pooches came to town and made a mess on the carpet.

Part One of the EPL Cup Semi-Final Have a listen right here. What began with a slow period of two great teams sizing each other up transitioned into a second period of testy play and grit. Then disaster struck in the third.  The Phoenix D collapsed like a flan in a cupboard and MK punished the lads.  But, they weren't able to retain the three-goal advantage as Phoenix mugged them of it in the dying minutes of the game. To hear the Phoenix travelling fans singing The Great Escape during the MOM announcement for their lads was hardly surprising! To see the faces of an exhausted MK was almost heartbreaking.  But it was them or us.  And it was them.  So not that heartbreaking! The show also features the welcome return of MK Rob and Harry.  Welcome back, boys! So, it's all to play for in Altrincham.  Who will be facing Bison in the final?

Listen to this week's show right here. A zero-point weekend is never a good thing and when two of the potential points go to Sheffield, nobody in Manchester is going to be thrilled.  But this is a partisan business.  That's what team sports are.  As such, people are going to have a good old grumble. It was a case of two bad nights at the office for Phoenix.  No matter how many times the Phoenix pushed up to take their shots of Sedlar and then Ryan, they could not get the lanes, bounces or luck. These things happen and Phoenix remain top of the table but it is getting crowded up there. Three games per week for a little while now and the team are feeling the strain so let us move on and, when Sheffield visit on Sunday next, the boys will be ready. This week we have a chat with Adam Walker (who we haven't spoken to in quite a while!) and birthday boy James Neil.

Listen to the show here.That was a rollercoaster and a half!  Putting aside the fact that the whole rink winced when Joe Graham was the hundredth player up to take a penalty in the shootout (including Joe apparently), the first period was not our boys' finest hour and MK were on the sort of defensive form that wins games. The second period was an ill-tempered affair and Phoenix did well to keep their heads and stay out of serious trouble. The third was a forceful strike back by the Phoenix and MK challenged all the way. The moment the equaliser appeared, it was pretty clear where this would end, and it did. Joe "The Saviour" Graham joins us for a chat at the end of the show and tells us about facing Telford next weekend. Enjoy the show.

Come and have a listen to the show right here. On a weekend when the Flames and Lightning were well and truly served by lower-placed teams, there was every chance that the Jets might land at the Dome and fly home with two points. No such luck for the home of the friendly bombs though as even their top-flight netminder couldn't stop a determined Mr Psurny from nearly making it a double hattrick. Even picking up a goal that, according to the podcast pundits, defied the law of physics and temporal mechanics was not enough to make the Phoenix ponder the safety of fortress Ice Dome. The player interviews return this week and who better to start with than Andy McKinney who talks to us about the forthcoming clashes with the Lightning and how fighting can be tiring. Enjoy the show and we'll be back with you next week. Ben

Have a listen right here.Ben's back this week and things are back to normal.  Well, except that Phoenix are picking up two points out of two game weekends.  MKL are a problem for the Phoenix when on the road.  It is troublesome but then games against the Bison can be a problem too. So a weekend featuring both teams are more likely to be two-pointers than four.  No shock that that's exactly how it went too. Neil Morris joins us on the show this week to have a chat about how things are and what the road game wobbles are about. Slough Jets at our rink next week.  They should be an easy mark but, even in their present state, they can still cause upsets. Let us see where this goes.  It's nearly Cup time too.

Take as a listen here as Nigel stands in again for the still unwell Ben. This week saw a trip to Coventry, which we would all like to forget, to play the MK Lightning.  Things did not go the Phoenix way at all but it still left Phoenix with 4 points to aim at for the weekend. It's hardly surprising that the loss of the Phoenix starting netminder to illness, Jorge having given it the heave-ho earlier in the week, and the back-up stepping in at the last second from the Minotaurs, left the Phoenix playing severely defensive road-game hockey and that's what they did but MK are just too good for that. Jaroslav Cesky stepping in as injury cover for Bakrlik certainly helped but it wasn't enough to pick up the first 2 points of the weekend from Bison. Then, at the Dome on Sunday, the first period was a cause of some slight concern but it was a decisive win in the end and two points were salvaged. Lots of upsets elsewhere in the league too.  That Telford game is getting closer...... can you smell it? Of course, if one does the maths, two teams are now out of the running for a trip to Coventry for the big old jamboree in April...

Find this week's show right here. Ben is off with the lurgy and so the really rather splendid Nigel McFarlane has stepped-up to bring you a short version of the show this week. It may not have been the best of games but those points look kinda fine now, writing this after the MK road game that followed but that's hockey for you. No winter classic here but Nigel covers it rather well and, of course, we know that some of the women of a certain age in our audience, do quite enjoy listening to his silky tones. Thanks Nigel! p.s. - this would have been available days ago but I was genuinely stuck in bed - Ben