Manchester Phoenix coach Tony Hand thinks his team’s luck will continue to improve as they look to extend their two-game winning streak against the Basingstoke Bison.
Phoenix turned around a losing streak to win both their games last weekend, and now travel to last year’s play-off champions before returning for a cup clash with Blackburn Hawks.
The Manchester outfit have already lost five of their first nine English Premier Ice Hockey League games this season, but Hand told MM he’s confident in his side’s performances.
“We’ve dominated games and lost by the odd goal,” he said. “We lost to Sheffield and we outshot them by 30 shots and hit the post six times. It happens – there’s no rhyme or reason to it.
“We’re a strong team though, and a lot of people haven’t mentioned that we’ve had a lot of injuries and with respect we don’t have a lot of depth.”
Last year’s league champions have experienced plenty of personnel turnover in the closed season, welcoming six new faces.
Phoenix also had a shorter pre-season than many of the other sides and Hand accepts that the side isn’t yet the finished article.
“I still don’t think the chemistry is 100%, what we’d like it to be,” he said. “When you bring a lot of guys in it does take a while, and sometimes the chemistry isn’t as good as what we would like within the lines, but we’re working hard.”
Despite the numerous signings in the off-season, Phoenix also let a number of players go and, in contrast to much of the rest of the league, are running on much the same budget as last year.
“I would love to replicate the fantastic season last year, but there are three or four teams out there that have spent a lot more money,” said Hand.
“We can’t go out and spend money we don’t have because it puts the club in jeopardy down the line.
“I think teams have certainly upped their ante in their spending and they’ve probably brought a lot more players in around the league.
“It’s not rocket science and there is no wage cap, so no one’s breaking any rules.”
Manchester Phoenix play the Basingstoke Bison on Saturday October 18 at 6:30pm, before taking on the Blackburn Hawks on Sunday October 19 at 5:30pm at the Altrincham Ice Dome.
Main image courtesy of OfficialPhoenix via YouTube, with thanks.