Manchester Phoenix
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| Manchester Phoenix | |
 Logo 2003-2007 |
|
 Logo 2007-Present |
|
| League | Elite Ice Hockey League |
| Founded | 2003 |
| History | Manchester Phoenix 2003-04; 2006-Present |
| Arena | Altrincham Ice Dome |
| Capacity | 2,150 |
| City | Altrincham, England |
| Team Colours | White, Black & Red |
| Head Coach/Director of Hockey Ops | Tony Hand, MBE |
| Owner | Neil Morris |
| General Manager | Andy Costigan |
| Team Captain & Asst Coach | Scott Basiuk |
The Manchester Phoenix is a professional ice hockey team from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. The club was formed in 2003 as a result of the efforts of supporters group Friends of Manchester Ice Hockey to bring top-level ice hockey back to Manchester after Manchester Storm folded in 2002.
Phoenix were founder members of the Elite Ice Hockey League upon its formation in 2003, playing in the 17,500 capacity MEN Arena. The cost of using such a large facility proved financially untenable, and Phoenix suspended playing operations in 2004 pending the construction of a smaller purpose built ice facility. Construction of the Altrincham Ice Dome commenced in 2006, and the club returned to the Elite League for the 2006-07 season.
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[edit] History
In 2002, the Manchester Storm, once the best-supported Ice Hockey club in Europe, went bust. After an initial protest against arena owners SMG (based on unfounded rumors that the Arena wanted the team out) was turned into a fan rally in support of the team, a supporters group known as 'The Friends of Manchester Storm' was established in order to ensure that Manchester would get a new team. FOMS came into being after a meeting at Manchester Town Hall when Manchester Storm owner Gary Cowan announced he was winding up the team due to unsustainable debts. Once it became clear that the Storm was out of business and not returning, FOMS changed their focus and became 'Friends Of Manchester Ice Hockey', with two stated aims.
1. To bring top level ice hockey back to Manchester.
2. To bring a new ice facility to the region.
Unable (and unwilling) to use the old Storm name, the new club was launched in 2003 using the name Manchester Phoenix. They were founding members of the British Elite Ice Hockey League and played out of the MEN Arena for their inaugural season. Under player-coach Rick Brebant, and later Paul Heavey, the team finished sixth out of eight in the league, the final qualifying place for the playoffs. Phoenix finished second in their Playoff group ahead of the Belfast Giants, qualifying for the semi-final, where they were beaten 6-1 by the Nottingham Panthers.
Despite an impressive beginning, with 3,600 turning out for the first home game (vs. London Racers), crowds struggled and it soon became apparent that ice hockey at the busiest indoor venue in Europe would no longer be viable. The seasons average was approx 2150 per game. In May 2004 the Phoenix announced that they had the funding to construct a new ice rink and subsequently would withdraw from the 2004-05 season while it was completed. The club had still not managed to build a new venue by Summer 2005 and announced that would not be playing in the 2005-06 season either.
In November 2005, the club announced details of a new rink to be built in partnership with Nikal, David McLean and Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council. The new rink would seat 2,026, with 24 wheelchair spaces, and standing for approx 4-500[1]. (Although there is some confusion as the latest plans have 2 capacities listed for seating: 2,026 and 2,200. It remains to be seen which of these is correct.) Planning permission for the rink was granted in early January 2006 and construction began on March 30.[2]
The building was scheduled to host its first game on September 24th, but delays meant this date was revised to November 30th 2006 at a pre season meeting between the fans and club management held on September 3rd 2006. In the interim, home games were held at either IceSheffield or Deeside Leisure Centre. Poor weather resulted in further delays, and the new ice dome was scheduled to open on the 28th of January, 2007, Phoenix hosting the Basingstoke Bison. This date was also missed, and the rink eventually opened (with a reduced capacity of 1,000) on February 25th, when the visitors were the Basingstoke Bison. As of early August 2007, there remain 700 seats still to be fitted inside the rink. According to an interview given by Neil Morris (the team owner), he has a letter of intent from the developers, promising the seats will be installed in time for the first game that the clubs season tickets are eligible for.
In April 2006, the Phoenix announced their new coach would be Tony Hand, regarded by many to be the finest British ice hockey player of all time.On Tuesday, 16th January 2007,Tony Hand, MBE has announced that he will be staying with Manchester Phoenix,having accepted terms with the club to a new two-year contract and with a new title of Director of Hockey.
[edit] 2007/08 Season
During May 2007 the squad was rebuilt, with Captain Scott Basiuk and forwards Matt Rich, K. C. Timmons, Adam Walker, Brett Clouthier and defenceman Simon Mangos all resigning to Tony Hand's team as well as the additions of Rhys McWilliams from the Solihull Barons and Jeff MacMillan from the ECHL's Phoenix Roadrunners and clinching the signing of former NHL player Scott Fankhouser as first choice goaltender.
The season started well for the Phoenix, with Fankhouser winning EIHL player of the week early in the season. This didn't last though, and results began to slide. Hand reacted to this by releasing K. C. Timmons and signing former Fresno Falcons forward Luke Stauffacher in his place in order to try and create more goal scoring opportunities. Timmons would sign for the Coventry Blaze, and would answer his critics by scoring a hat-trick against the Phoenix at the Ice Dome in December 2007.
Form continued to be hard to find for the Phoenix though. Despite scoring significant numbers of goals, the Phoenix defence proved to be anything but watertight and high scoring games became a regular occurrence. Manchester closed the regular season on the 23rd of April with a 6-2 away loss to the Hull Stingrays, finishing 7th in the EIHL. This was perceived by many fans to be somewhat of an underachievement by the organisation.
The Phoenix's seventh placed finish ensured a post-season matchup with their fiercest rivals, the Sheffield Steelers. Again two high scoring games would follow; the Phoenix lost 5-4 in Sheffield, ensuring a tense return leg at the Ice Dome. Despite scoring four goals, the Phoenix defence again proved to be a problem, with the game ending 4-4 in front of a sell out crowd of 2150. The draw meant that the Phoenix exited the playoffs in the first round for the second year in a row.
[edit] 2008/09 Season
During the close-season, the Phoenix have again begun to re-build their squad. Tony Hand has again been appointed head coach and has moved to strengthen the British contingent of the squad, re-signing Carl Graham and Adam Walker, fully promoting Phil Hamer from the U-18 squad and on the 16th May, announced the signing of Team G.B. defenceman Luke Boothroyd. Soon after, the Phoenix re-signed a familiar face in Dwight Parrish, who had iced for both the Manchester Storm and the Phoenix in their debut season.
Hand has also signed a number of non-British players to the Phoenix roster, resigning fans favourite Brett Clouthier and offering former Texas Brahmas centre Grant Jacobsen his first taste of European hockey.
[edit] Manchester Phoenix ENL
Also during the 2007 off-season, the club has announced the formation of a team to play in the amateur English National Ice Hockey League, under the name Manchester Phoenix ENL. The creation of this team is seen as being the final step for an integrated development system, taking players from U-10 level right through to professional. This team is coached by Paul Bayliss, currently head coach of the Manchester Phoenix Junior teams.
[edit] EIHL Roster
| Goaltenders | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| Defencemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 4 |  |
Luke Boothroyd | R | 2008 | Huddersfield, England | |
| 5 |  |
Kenton Smith | L | 2008 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |
| 17 |  |
Dwight Parrish | R | 2008 | Southfield, Michigan, USA | |
| 81 | |
Carl Graham | R | 2007 | Reading, England | |
| Forwards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 9 | |
Tony Hand | R | 2006 | Edinburgh, Scotland | |
| 16 | |
Brett Clouthier | L | 2006 | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | |
| 19 | |
Grant Jacobsen | L | 2008 | Neepawa, Manitoba, Canada | |
| 29 | |
Adam Walker | R | 2006 | Fife, Scotland, U.K. | |
| 87 | |
Phil Hamer | R | 2007 | Manchester, England | |
| Staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Staff Member | Position | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 9 | |
Tony Hand | Player/Head Coach | 2006 | Edinburgh, Scotland | |
| -- | |
Davey Graham | Bench Coach | 2007 | Newcastle, England | |
| -- | |
Paul Turner | Equipment Manager | 2005 | Sheffield, England | |
| -- | |
Stuart Ness | Physiotherapist | 2007 | Manchester, England | |
| Also Iced | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Name | Position | Acquired | Released | Place of Birth | |
[edit] Past Head Coaches
- Rick Brebant 2003-2004 Player/Head Coach/Assistant Coach
- Paul Heavey 2003-2004 Head Coach
[edit] Current Head Coach
- Tony Hand 2006-2007 Player/Head Coach
[edit] Honours and Awards
2003/04
2006/07
2007/08 'Man of Ice'
- 'Hard As Ice' - Brett Clouthier
- 'Best Newcomer' - Joe Tallari
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Altrincham Ice Dome seating plans. Altrincham Ice Dome website. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.(pdf)
- ^ Phoenix on ice. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
