That’s hockey, baby.
You can watch your team for 120 minutes across two legs, you can appreciate just how incredibly good they are, you can stand in awe as they score goal after goal after goal, and yet they can still lose.
I couldn’t make the first leg on Saturday. We’d left ourselves in a very strong position with a closely fought tie ending 5-4 to Peterborough. On Sunday the brief was simple, match or better the result. Knockout cup hockey. Sunday night. A packed Alexandra Palace.
It’s a blistering start.
It reminded me of the game at the Palace during the 2022/23 season. Two teams going hell for leather. Ryan Gadeke with one of the purest slapshots you’ll ever see off the right wing. It was the same scoreline, but with Haringey coming out on top. Two very different teams that day, meeting under very different circumstances.
Peterborough are so fast and so quick in everything they do. You’ve either got to ride it out or match it, and Haringey aren’t able to do either and it’s 0-1 within a minute. Peterborough carry the puck along the left wing, cut back into the slot and Phantoms’ forward Louie Kynaston is quickest to react and pokes around the outstretched Dylan Philips and into the net.
Haringey are back level-pegging after 5 minutes, however. A shot comes in from the blue line and Marton Szasz is there on the doorstep to snaffle it home.
It’s breathless, end-to-end stuff. The goal calms Haringey down and they get a hold of the puck. Ruskin Springer Hughes barrels his way past two Peterborough players, his shot spiralling over the bar and out of bounds. Oli Cooper gains the zone and has his wrister held. Dylan Philips makes a magnificent double save to deny Peterborough again.
Johan Persson and Ruskin do well to turnover possession, and Ruskin sets off 1-on-1 against Peterborough netminder Luke Clark who gets a stick to his shot and sends the puck over the bar. A glorious chance.
There’s a flurry of shots towards the end of the period, Will Nowik ringing iron but none that can find the back of the net.
The second continues at much the same pace. Will picks a pocket, heads straight down the slot and rips it into the side netting for 2-1. Peterborough are almost in straight away after a mistake in the d-zone but it’s covered by Cam Pow and Ryan Payne.
Pete Toth puts himself about and is responsible for the two biggest hits of the night. It’s a good period for the Huskies and we’re keeping Luke Clark busy. Cam Pow sends one wide from the blue line. Johan’s kicked out from the hashmarks.
Peterborough draw level with eight minutes left in the second. They work it tic-tac-toe across the offensive zone and there’s acres of space on the right for them to work with. Less than a minute later and the Haringey lead is restored. Will Nowik providing again, what a game he had, with a brilliant finish.
It opens the game up again. At one end the puck’s picked-off, Dylan makes a diving save hitting the ice and it’s worked quickly up to the other where Ruskin’s shot is held from the right. End-to-end. You-shoot-we-shoot, you-shoot-we-shoot.
The Phantoms have the last say in the second though. They work it side to side on the powerplay, it comes around the net and is then whipped in 5-hole from the right. Seven-8 on aggregate, 3-3 on the night. Still work to do for Haringey.
Dylan denies the breakaway for Peterborough at the start of the third, before Rob Rejna and Ruskin create a half-decent chance, the shot saved form the left. Will toe-drags past the Phantom’s D-man but can’t get a shot off quick enough.
Matt France turns over possession with a well-timed poke check. Johan puts a bomb on net, kicked out. Stuart Appleby then Matt Ganas have shots from tight angles. Denied. Ten minutes left in the game.
Peterborough’s fourth goal is a strange one. Everyone’s sprawled across the crease, from the stands it looks like the net comes off its posts and then the Phantoms score. The ref takes a really long look at it before awarding the goal, and all I can think is they must have deemed it intentional. Nine minutes left, Haringey needing two goals.
Haringey start turning the screw, with Peterborough looking dangerous on the counter. Jaden Boolkah shoots wide from the blue line. There’s a disguised attempt before Ruskin shoots with Stu jumping out of the way. Puck covered.
It’s a crazy end to the game. Ruskin makes it 4-4 with 16 seconds remaining. Peterborough call timeout, Haringey pull Dylan and then call a timeout themselves. It’s desperate and agonising and the Huskies just can’t get on the puck. Peterborough get the empty-netter, with what must be one second on the clock or on the buzzer. Either way it’s immaterial, and the Phantoms progress to the Wilkinson Cup final.
I’ve heard that the Phantoms have aspirations of moving to South 1 in the near future, and I think they’ll make a good go of it, should it happen. In the last couple of seasons they’ve really kicked-on and are a dominant force in South 2 now. They’ll certainly fare better than Cardiff Fire and Swindon Wildcats 2, the last teams to step-up and who are both struggling at the bottom of the Britton league.
It’s a heartbreaking result, but one in which Haringey can be proud of the effort and performances they put in. Sometimes it’s just not your night. We’ll get to run the whole thing back again should the two teams qualify for the Eddie Joseph Memorial Cup final, which I think is quite likely.
We’ll look to add to our points in that competition this Saturday against the Chelmsford Warriors. We can make it three from three with a win over Chelmsford, who currently sit bottom of the table. It was a hard-fought win over them in the league the last time we played them ending up 4-6. If we play anything like we have this past weekend, we’ll be far too strong. There’s still a lot to play for this season, cup final or no, so let’s keep this wagon rolling.
Let’s Go Huskies.
Photo: Phil Hutchinson
