The Waldeck Peterborough Phantoms finished their schedule for 2023 with defeat at Raiders IHC.
Tyler De La Bertouche started in the Phantoms net and ended up taking home the man of the match award.
He was called into action early on when Brandon Ayliffe broke free to the right of goal, but saw his effort well saved.
Raiders hit the front at 2:49, though, as Brynley Capps found the far bottom corner from the left circle.
Austin Mitchell-King then went close for Phantoms, before Zack Milton was denied a second Raiders goal of the evening by the goalpost.
But Aaron Connolly did put them two in front, by finding the net from a tight angle.
And they struck again five minutes later, as Adam Laishram scored from in close to make it 3-0 in favour of the home side.
Phantoms lost captain Will Weldon to injury towards the end of the first period after an awkward collision with the boards. #29 returned for the second period, but was unable to continue after taking a shift early in the second frame.
Ralfs Circenis got Phantoms on the board, finding the net with a smart finish after shifting from forehand to backhand.
But Raiders hit straight back, as George Norcliffe reinstated their three goal advantage just under a minute later.
Phantoms grabbed the only goal of the third period in the closing stages as Callum Buglass put puck to twine from the blue line, but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback as the Phantoms ultimately fell to defeat.
Slava’s side kick off 2024 on New Year’s Day as Raiders visit Planet Ice Peterborough for a 7:30pm face off in the NIHL National League.
FINAL SCORE: Raiders IHC 4-2 Peterborough Phantoms
Phantoms goals:
34:53 (RR 3-1 PP): #34 Ralfs Circenis / #19 Luke Ferrara (EHG)
55:35 (RR 4-2 PP): #45 Callum Buglass / #2 Tom Norton (PPG)
Raiders goals:
2:49 (RR 1-0 PP): #8 Brynley Capps / #95 Jacob Ranson / #5 Joe Tomalin (EHG)
10:46 (RR 2-0 PP): #63 Aaron Connolly / #23 Riley MacRae / #91 Coy Prevost (EHG)
15:13 (RR 3-0 PP): #81 Adam Laishram / #18 Marco Pascale / #24 Zack Milton (EHG)
35:51 (RR 4-1 PP): #19 George Norcliffe / #23 Riley MacRae (EHG)
Phantoms man of the match: #42 Tyler De La Bertouche
​Raiders man of the match: #39 Ethan James