Peterborough Phantoms brought the curtain down on this season’s Planet Ice NIHL National Division Finals Weekend by edging regular season champions Leeds Knights on penalties to secure play-off glory in Coventry.
In an action-packed weekend which saw drama until the final seconds, the Phantoms recovered from a first-period deficit to go all the way and wave off their departing captain Will Weldon in style ahead of his impending retirement.
It took overtime to see the Phantoms past Telford Tigers on Day 1 of Finals Weekend, and they would be forced to go the distance once more as the Knights twice came from a goal down to force overtime then a penalty shoot-out.
The Phantoms ended the regular season as fifth seeds for the play-off group stages and were paired in Group A alongside the Knights, progressing to the Final Four ahead of beaten National Cup finalists Hull Seahawks and eighth-seeded Bees IHC.
Leeds, who were chasing a second piece of 2023/24 silverware, overcame Swindon Wildcats 7-3 in the play-off semi-finals but fell at the final hurdle, on a Sunday of high drama in the Midlands.
Day 2 of Finals Weekend started with an evenly-contested “north vs south” battle as regular season champions Streatham IHC and Billingham Stars locked horns.
Having found themselves two goals ahead after the opening quarter, Streatham were forced to withstand a Stars rally to run out 2023/24 NIHL1 National Champions by a 4-3 scoreline.
The entire weekend was well-attended by the entire hockey community as supporters from a range of clubs descended on the Skydome Arena for Finals Weekend.
The event was also viewed online by many more hockey supporters who purchased individual match and full weekend streaming passes.
We’d like to thank every single player, coach, volunteer, supporter and anyone else who helped make the event such an overwhelming success.
Leeds Knights 7-3 Swindon Wildcats
Telford Tigers 4-5 (OT) Peterborough Phantoms
Billingham Stars 3-4 Streatham Redhawks
Leeds Knights 3-4 (SO) Peterborough Phantoms
Photo credit: Blueline Photography
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