The Manchester Phoenix Podcast

I'm keeping the shownotes to the minimum in favour of actually getting the show up quickly. It's Coventry time next week. I will post in this feed all of the details to let you come and join us or to listen LIVE on Saturday and Sunday via the internet. James Neil shares insight into that push to Spearing and he gives us his predictions for the weekend ahead.  Find this week's show here.

Okay, well it wasn't really a McKenzie Frenzy but it seemed like too good a title to miss and it was better than Tigers Claw Their Way Back or something.  (NB: this is written before the club's news release so apologies if that's what they went for!) Anyway, the Tigers had the strongest start to the third period that we have seen in a long time.  They came out with a good game throughout and it was an exciting game for a four-fifths full Ice Dome to witness. Tigers have improved towards the tail-end (sorry) of the season and Scott McKenzie really is their talisman player.  Declan Ryan is a great netminder and he does them proud.  Maybe next season will be their time to shine. As for the Phoenix, playing with three Metros lads, including Dickenson who scored tonight, and missing Ondrej and James, they did well and kept a tight game for two periods.  That blast of goals at the start of the third didn't destroy them but it means that they are not starting from the same mental place against the Bees in the quarter-finals as they should be. It's playoff time, folks.  Looking forward to it? If you are coming to the live shows (or just if you fancy some playoff clothing), get along to this site and buy yourself a custom-designed t-shirt for the event. See you in Bees country. The show is right here.

That was an interesting weekend. Luke Boothroyd is on tonight's show talking about the 8-2 loss in Telford and the 3-2 win at home.  He shares a few insights with us about having a calm head and about his playoffs hopes. There's a bleep or two in tonight's coverage but this is not unusual when the Dogs are in town.  A fair old bit of excitement at the Dome in a game that saw Duncombe bottle a fight with Schnabel, Jazzy get hustled by, no prizes for guessing, Greg Wood, and Phoenix grind out a win despite having a side minus two imports, its starting netminder and Andy McKinney when he got the heave-ho for allegedly kicking.   You know.  The usual. It is definitely time for the Dogs to be playing for their contracts and everyone's favourite panto villain, Andre Payette, was handily nestled amongst the Phoenix fans in Block 10 to watch. Enjoy the show.  There'll probably be more of the same following next Friday's game and the revenge match against Telford on Sunday. Find the show HERE.

Andy McKinney finally gets to drop his gloves before a sell-out crowd at the Ice Dome tonight.  He's a happy boy.  Got a bit of a potty mouth as a result too.  The naughty boy. Anyway, the Phantoms came with a plan to play as a team.  Everything going forward.  Everything going backwards.  It was all or nothing for them and it turned out to be next to nothing in the end. Phoenix played a busy game.  Phantoms were determined to disrupt every play but that left them lacking on the attack.  The result was a bit of a strange game.  Thoroughly enjoyable but a little lacking in style at times. Still, some good news tonight was that Telford beat the Steelpups so that's them out of the playoffs, then. Here's the show.

This is a double episode, folks.  Get comfortable. What a weekend it has been! The Flames game was edge-of-your-seat stuff and some excellent hockey was on display as these two powerhouses of British ice-hockey put their best feet forward. A great win on the night for Phoenix but just two goals short of the win on aggregate.  Shame really as I reckon we could have had the Jets in the Final! Sunday night saw the first actual, full-on, proper sell-out of the Phoenix's decade.  It was packed.  It was loud.  It was lacking the odd working vending machine but it was quite a spectacle. The first period of the game was fast and furious albeit with a lot of board action going on.  The second was all about the goals, which were stunning. The final period was spent watching Stevie Lyle fall apart.  I know that will have brought a smile to a few Phoenix faces as Phoenix have lost the other five games in the series against the Bison. Also, we finally caught-up with Liam Chong! He talks playoffs and being focused on the game. See you on Saturday, folks. The episode is right here.