MATCH REPORT | PHANTOMS WEATHER THE STORM TO TAKE THE POINTS AGAINST THE RAIDERS

A strong special teams display helped the Wendy’s Peterborough Phantoms to a 4-1 victory over the Romford Raiders in Bretton, with five penalties killed, including two extended kills.

It was the visitors who opened the scoring at 02:09, with Dawson Osborn finishing unassisted to give the Raiders the lead. Despite the early setback, the Phantoms began to settle into the game and pick holes in the Romford defence.

Cam Hough was the first to go close, with a wraparound opportunity forcing a save from Cole Ceci - before Ewan Hill tested Hayden Lavigne at the other end. A breakaway opportunity for Morgan Clarke-Pizzo followed soon after, with his initial effort denied - and the rebound bobbling wide.

The home side weren’t behind for long, with Captain Luke Ferrara rifling home an equaliser at 06:58 - following some good link-up play between Scott Robson and Callum Buglass on the blue line.

The Phantoms continued to push, with Ralfs Circenis and Janne Laakkonen creating chances in the offensive zone. The go-ahead goal came at 09:53, with Cam Hough Johnny-on-the-spot, finishing a pinpoint pass from Brad Bowering behind the net.

A too-many-men penalty briefly halted momentum for the Phantoms - but a strong penalty kill allowed Ferrara to pick up where he’d left off, forcing a good glove save out of Ceci as the opening period came to a close.

A too-many-men call on the Raiders at 19:36 saw the Phantoms finish the period with a man-advantage, carrying over into the middle frame.

After a couple of half-chances at either end, the Raiders returned to full strength. A holding penalty on the visitors gave the Phantoms a chance to extend the lead, though the best chance fell to Hough in close after some good skill - with Ceci smothering his backhand effort.

The home side’s lead was extended at 31:41, as Dillon Lawrence continued his fine powerplay form to capitalise on a Callum Burnett kneeing penalty - firing into the bottom corner from range.

An increasingly scrappy middle frame began to boil over - with Morgan Clarke-Pizzo sitting for hooking at 32:09, before a Robson boarding major on the penalty kill led to a brawl behind the net.

Despite having a five-minute major to kill, the Phantoms dug in defensively and struck again while play was even-strength, with Tjay Anderson sitting two minutes for roughing. A strong poke-check from Dillon Lawrence in the defensive zone saw him maraud down the ice and convert his own breakaway at 35:14 - extending his side’s lead to 4-1.

Another strong penalty kill closed out the remainder of Robson’s penalty, with the Phantoms heading into the final frame firmly in control.

The final frame continued in the physical tone of the second, with stop-start penalties breaking up any momentum either team had gained.

A trip on Billy Thorpe by the home bench saw Joe Gretton drop the gloves with Joe Tomalin - a comfortable win for Gretton, sending both men to the penalty box; with Tomalin sitting an additional 2 minutes for the initial incident.

A spear on Adam Laishram by Morgan Clarke-Pizzo erupted into further chaos at 52:39 - centring around the Phantoms man and Elliott Dewey. With Dewey sitting 2 for holding and 2 for roughing, Clarke-Pizzo was awarded a coincidental roughing penalty - alongside an ejection for spearing via a 5 + game major penalty.

Despite being reduced to five-on-three so late in the game, the Phantoms held out defensively, with Hayden Lavigne continuing a strong showing. A shorthanded breakaway for Brad Bowering killed the remainder of the Phantoms’ major penalty, sealing two points in the first of back-to-back games against the Raiders.

FINAL SCORE: Peterborough Phantoms 4-1 Romford Raiders