By Olivia Hooper

The Bristol Honda Pitbulls made the trip to Peterborough, where they took on the Phantoms in a tough battle for the 2 points.

The team was without GB prospects Tyler De La Bertouche and Jacob White-Sey, as well as Bayley Harewood, due to a suspension received after the match on Saturday night.

Phantoms are the first to take possession of the puck and waste no time with trying to put it to the back of the net, but it’s Tommy Nappier who keeps the puck out and denies Phantoms any chance of opening the scoring. A power play advantage was given to the Phantoms when Elliot Lewis served a two-minute penalty for too many men on the ice, but nothing was made of this chance, and the score remained the same. Pitbulls returned to full strength, but it wasn’t long before another penalty was called, and Reece Cochrane made his way to the box to sit the two-minute penalty for slashing. A strong Pitbulls penalty kill team puts a stop to the Phantoms chances, and Cochrane is released from the box, which puts the Pitbulls back to a full bench. Pitbulls decided to put a stop to the endless battle to open the scoring when a pass from Tanner Butler gave Ewan Hill the perfect opportunity to fire a shot past Hayden Lavigne, which put Pitbulls on the board and gave them the lead.

The teams returned to the ice ready for the second period. Pitbulls were the first in this period to suffer a penalty when Nick Pryce paid a visit to the box for a face-off violation, giving the Phantoms another opportunity to score a goal and get back in the game. Callum Buglass hits it from the blue line and puts it across the line, scoring the equaliser that the Phantoms needed. The rest of the period was filled with penalties on both sides, giving both teams chances to score another to take the lead. Nothing was made of these opportunities, and the second period finished with the score kept equal.

Luke Ferrara was the first to get a penalty in this period and sat two minutes for tripping, rewarding the Pitbulls with another power play opportunity. Lavigne stops the puck from crossing the line, and the Phantoms return to full strength. The end-to-end battle continued with both teams fighting for a chance to take the lead, but Cameron Hough was given a five-plus game penalty for boarding, which gave the Pitbulls the upper hand to try and secure a lead over the Phantoms. It was the Phantoms turn for the power play opportunities when Cochrane was sent to the penalty box for two minutes for delay of the game. Nappier pulls the saves out of the bag, and the Phantoms were unsuccessful in their power play. Both sides were against the clock, fighting for possession and looking for a space to slip the puck past the netminders. The time is up, and the match goes to overtime.

Phantoms start overtime on the power play with Pryce in the box for two minutes for high-sticking. Overtime was short-lived when Ferrara pushed the puck in the net and out of Nappier’s reach, scoring the final goal of the match and winning the two points for the Phantoms.

Man of the match for the Pitbulls was given to netminder Tommy Nappier.