Bracknell Bees 1 Manchester Phoenix 5

MANCHESTER Phoenix made it two wins out of two on the road in successive nights as the Altrincham outfit pick up the pace in their quest for the EPL title.

Phoenix suffered a heavy defeat at the Hive last time out and they were determined it would not happen again as they started brightly.

However, as Frankie Bakrlik sat out at slashing call in the second minute, the Bees took the lead with a Shaun Thompson goal on the powerplay.

Phoenix re-grouped and slowly gained the initiative and it was no surprise when they equalised on 12 minutes with a Bakrlik strike.

Three minutes later, a trademark Robert Schnabel belter from the blue line found its way past Alex Mettam in the Bees net to put the visitors 2-1 up.

There was still time for Bracknell to push for the equaliser on their third power play of the period but the Phoenix defence stood firm and went to the first break with the one goal lead.

Phoenix’s fast-breaking attacking style was causing the home side problems and it was no surprise when Bakrlik scored his second of the evening on 26 minutes with a delayed penalty goal, assisted by Robin Kovar Phoenix continued to play the perfect road game in the third period and stretched their lead on 46 minutes when Robin Kovar found the net, assisted by Jacob Heron and James Archer.

Three minutes later, Ben Wood put the icing on the cake with a shot from the blue line and Phoenix closed the game out in the last 10 minutes to take two well earned point

A happy coach Tony Hand said after the game: “I thought we played very well tonight against a side that can be formidable on their own big ice pad. Credit to the Bees, they never gave up and kept pressure on us throughout. We are on a tough schedule and two road wins in two nights is just reward for the team’s efforts.”

Phoenix scorers: Frantisek Bakrlik 2, Robert Schnabel, Robin Kovar and Ben Wood.