Peterborough Phantoms beaten after late fightback from the league leaders
The city team succumbed to an 8-5 defeat at table-topping Swindon in a game in which they held two-goal leads at three different times.
The damage was done in the final period when the Wildcats fired four unanswered goals to ease to victory, but Phantoms gave a good account of themselves.
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Hide AdMartins Susters made the breakthrough for Phantoms in the opening session and Ales Padelek doubled the advantage little more than a minute later.
One-time Phantoms play-offs winner Edgars Bebris hit back for the high-flying hosts, but a short-handed Petr Stepanek strike early in a thrilling second period edged Slava Koulikov’s men clear again.
Chris Jones and Bebris then dragged Swindon back onto level terms before Glenn Billing and Tom Billing produced quickfire powerplay goals as Phantoms asserted again.
Their two-goal cushion was cut with just three seconds of the middle period to go by Tom Rutkis and that effort provided the springboard for Swindon to turn the contest in the closing stanza.
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Hide AdThe same man – Rutkis – levelled on a powerplay before two Jones goals, to complete his hat-trick, eased Swindon clear.
And they sealed the point late on when Tyler Plews struck into an empty net after Phantoms pulled netminder Jordan Marr in a bid to claw themselves level.
Phantoms are back in action tonight (November 10) when they host strugglers Raiders at Planet Ice (5.30pm).
MATCH DETAILS
Goals
SWINDON
16.21 Bebris ass: Liddiard/Jones
29.18 Jones ass: Bebris/Rutkis
33.39 Bebris ass: Whitfield
39.57 Rutkis ass: Godfrey
46.53 Rutkis (PP) ass: Kostal/Taylor
47.35 Jones ass: Bebris/Godfrey
51.41 Jones ass: Rutkis/Liddiard
58.30 Plews (EN) unassisted
PHANTOMS
11.43 Susters ass: McEwen/Stepanek
12.58 Padelek ass: Billing
23.49 Stepanek (SH) ass: Bowering
37.03 Billing (PP) ass: Norton
38.22 Norton (PP) ass: Padelek/Buglass
Men-of-the-match
SWINDON – Toms Rutkis
PHANTOMS – Corey McEwen