The WALDECK Peterborough Phantoms claimed their first victory of pre-season when they shut out the Romford Raiders on Sunday night.
Phantoms went into the game without several of their stars - Brad Bowering, Billy Thorpe, Nathan Salem & Tom Palmer were unavailable, whilst youngster Nicholas Martin also didn’t feature.
Nojus Venskutonis had Phantoms’ first sighter of goal, testing Ethan James from the blue line after good work by Duncan Speirs, before Hayden Lavigne was called into action for the first time to make a save after a quick Romford break out.
The teams traded chances as the opening period wore on, with Austin Mitchell-King and Cam Hough going close for Phantoms, whilst Andrew Shewfelt & Brandon Ayliffe tested Lavigne at the other end.
Phantoms took the lead on 17:25 when a period of sustained pressure in the offensive zone saw Hough go to the net and create an opening for Luke Ferrara to ghost in and tap home on the back door.
They continued to move through the gears in the second period, with Ferrara, Hough and Janne Laakkonen finding chemistry and looking dangerous every time they hit the ice.
The second goal came Venskutonis picked out a lovely breakout pass, allowing Hough and Laakkonen to team up in finding Ferrara on the back post, who lifted his effort into the roof of the net.
They quickly found their third through Louie Kynaston, who took a Mitchell-King pass on the spin and applied an excellent finish beyond Ethan James.
Buoyed by their pair of goals late in the second, Phantoms came out flying in the third and it wasn’t long before Ferrara completed his hat-trick, firing home from the angle after more good work by Laakkonen and Hough.
The same combination linked up yet again just 30 seconds later, as Ferrara blasted one top shelf to make it 5-0 at 43:21.
Raiders had no answer for Phantoms’ top line and they continued to cause problems. Ferrara and Hough broke shorthanded, but James got across well to deny Hough a shorthanded goal.
The scoring was rounded off by Callum Buglass when he jumped in on the play and was found out in front by Barnabas Sari. When found, he picked his spot in the roof of the net and finished well.
Lavigne and his teammates would have had their eyes on the shut out long before the end of the game, but they comfortably held firm to maintain it to round off a positive night for the WALDECK Peterborough Phantoms.
FINAL SCORE: Peterborough Phantoms 6-0 Romford Raiders
Phantoms goals:
17:25 (PP 1-0 RR): #19 Luke Ferrara / #29 Cam Hough / #24 Austin Mitchell-King (PPG)
36:09 (PP 2-0 RR): #19 Luke Ferrara / #29 Cam Hough / #62 Janne Laakkonen / (EHG)
38:24 (PP 3-0 RR): #8 Louie Kynaston / #24 Austin Mitchell-King / #2 Tom Norton (EHG)
42:51 (PP 4-0 RR): #19 Luke Ferrara (Hat-Trick) / #62 Janne Laakkonen / #29 Cam Hough (PPG)
43:21 (PP 5-0 RR): #19 Luke Ferrara / #62 Janne Laakkonen / #29 Cam Hough (EHG)
47:06 (PP 6-0 RR): #45 Callum Buglass / #92 Barnabas Sari (EHG)
Phantoms man of the match: #30 Hayden Lavigne
Raiders man of the match: #39 Ethan James