The Lee Valley Lions suffered a heavy road defeat in Peterborough, as they went down 10-0 to the Phantoms on Sunday night.
The Lions were missing several first-team regulars, including Joe Berry and Conner Smith who both picked up injuries in the previous week’s defeat to Invicta. This left the Lions with just 14 skaters, while the Phantoms were able to ice 17 skaters including former Lions captain Nick Alley.
First Period: It was the Phantoms who made the best start, with Alley scoring in the seventh minute to put them 1-0 up. It then took less than two minutes for the next goal to arrive, as Shaun Yardley made it 2-0 to the hosts.
The Lions then held firm for a while, before conceding the third goal in the 18th minute; Alley getting his second of the evening. This put the Lions 3-0 down going into the first intermission.
Second Period: The middle period was disrupted by a number of penalties, with the Lions getting several powerplay opportunities but being unable to convert these. The Phantoms then extended their lead in the 28th minute mark, as Alley – who had swapped Lee Valley for Peterborough last summer – completed his hat-trick.
Things got worse for the Lions with just a minute and a half remaining in the second period, as they went 5-0 down courtesy of Clint Herring. This is how the score would remain going into the second intermission.
Third Period: The Lions then had a powerplay chance to start the final period, and over-committed as they tried to break Peterborough netminder Dan Lane’s shutout – this allowed the Phantoms to counter and go 6-0 up with a shorthanded goal by Herring.
The lead for the home side then became 7-0 just a minute and a half later, as Conor Pollard killed the game off as a contest once and for all with a goal in the 43rd minute.
As the Lions started to tire in the later stages of the game, the Phantoms were relentless as they added three further goals to bump the score up to 10-0; Jake Samal and Craig Ellis each got on the scoresheet while Alley grabbed his fourth of the night, with Lions goaltender James Andrew powerless to stop the late onslaught.
Things got heated later in the game when Clint Herring of the Phantoms received a 2+10 penalty for boarding, which led to a fight between Lee Valley’s Yasin Sridhar and Peterborough’s Shaun Yardley – both combatants receiving four penalty minutes for roughing.
The final buzzer sounded with the Phantoms taking a comfortable 10-0 win against a short-benched Lions side. Man of the Match for the Lions was Ben Gillingham, while unsurprisingly it was four-goal man Alley who took home the award for the Phantoms.
The Lions hit the road again this upcoming Saturday 2nd March, as they take on the Bracknell Hornets. Faceoff in Bracknell will be at 18:00.
GAME STATS*
*Please note, some stats vary from those on the official game sheet
Final Score: Peterborough NIHL2 Phantoms 10-0 Lee Valley Lions
Period Scores: 3-0/2-0/5-0
Shots: Peterborough 51-27 Lee Valley (21-8/13-12/17-7)
Penalty Minutes: Peterborough 40-18 Lee Valley Lions
Scorers: Peterborough – Conor Pollard 1+4, Nick Alley 4+0, Clint Herring 2+1, Craig Ellis 1+1, Shaun Yardley 1+1, Jake Samal 1+1, Callum Worthington-Evans 0+1, Robert McDonald 0+1, Bernard Bradford 0+1, Kenny Bavin 0+1, Jordan Liddell 0+1, Jon Binder 0+1, Connor Hunter 0+1, James Pentecost 0+1
Goaltenders: Peterborough – Dan Lane (41:04 played, 21 shots/0 goals against); Jack Peacock (18:56 played, 6 shots/0 goals against)
Lee Valley – James Andrew (60:00 played, 51 shots/10 goals against)
Man of the Match – Ben Gillingham (Lee Valley), Nick Alley (Peterborough)