Manchester Phoenix

Manchester Phoenix 	Manchester Phoenix
Logo 2003-2007 	
Logo 2003-2007
Logo 2007-Present 	
Logo 2007-Present
League 	English Premier Ice Hockey League
Founded 	2003
History 	Manchester Phoenix2003-04; 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 	
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. After three seasons in the EIHL, the club joined the English Premier Ice Hockey League on April 30th 2009.
==Origins==
In 2002, the Manchester Storm, once the best-supported Ice Hockey club in Europe, ran into serious financial trouble and was folded. Initially fans protested against SMG, the company who owned the Manchester Evening News Arena as it was perceived that troubles had arisen due to SMG's disinterest in continuing to house the Storm at the Manchester Evening News Arena. This soon turned into a rally in support of the team and a supporters group known as 'The Friends of Manchester Storm' was established after Gary Cowan, the owner of the Storm officially announced he was finalising the organisation's operations due to unsustainable debts. Once it became clear that the Storm were not to return, FOMS changed their name, becoming the 'Friends Of Manchester Ice Hockey'. 
This group had two established aims, namely to bring top level professional ice hockey back to Manchester and to ensure the creation of a new ice rink facility in the region. In 2003, a club was formed and with fans choosing to symbolically title the team the 'Manchester Phoenix', rising from the ashes of the Storm.
==Initial Playing Operations==
The Phoenix would be 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 against the London Racers, crowds would not be consistent and it soon became apparent that ice hockey at the busiest indoor venue in Europe would no longer be viable with the season's average attendance being just 2,150 per game. As a result, the Phoenix temporarily suspended playing operations at the end of the 2003-04 season. 
In May of 2004 the Phoenix announced that they had the funding to construct a new temporary ice rink but problems arose as to exactly where to locate the facility. As a result, the deadline for inclusion in the EIHL passed, and the Phoenix withdrew from the 2004-05 season. The club had still not managed to build a new venue by the following year, and announced that the Phoenix would not be part of 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(pdf). Planning permission for the rink was finally granted in early January 2006 and construction began on March 30, with the rink to be sited in Altrincham. 
With progress being made, the Phoenix confirmed their inclusion in the EIHL once again, for the 2006/07 season with the Ice Dome scheduled to host its first game on September 24 2006. The Phoenix also announced the appointment of Tony Hand as player/head coach. This was regarded as a huge step forward for the organisation, as Hand is regarded by many as the greatest British ice hockey player of all time. Unfortunately for Hand and the team, unexpected delays followed and so in the interim Phoenix home games were held at either IceSheffield or Deeside Leisure Centre. After further construction and two further missed completion dates, the rink eventually opened with a reduced capacity of 1,000 on February 25 2007, with Phoenix playing host to the Basingstoke Bison. It was the first time professional hockey had been played in Manchester for the first time in almost three years. The remaining 700 seats were installed over the following months, with the Dome completely ready for the beginning of the 2007/08 season.
For further information, please see 2006-07 Manchester Phoenix season.
==2007/08 Season==
During May 2007 the squad was rebuilt, with club 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, 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. 
==2008/09 Season==
For Game-By-Game Log see 2008-09 Manchester Phoenix Season
During the close-season, the Phoenix again re-built their squad. Tony Hand was again appointed head coach and 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. Alex Dunn and Josh Garbutt were the final two defencemen signed by Hand.
Hand also signed several more non-British players to the Phoenix roster, re-signing fans favourite Brett Clouthier, and offering Canadian duo Grant Jacobsen and David-Alexandre Beauregard their first taste of European hockey, as well as signing Odessa Jackalopes pair Kenton Smith and Nathan Ward. Smith would also be named club captain. Bruce Mulherin, Luke Fulghum and the hard-hitting Kyle Bruce completed the forward lines for the Phoenix. Manchester brought in first choice Team GB Goaltender Stephen Murphy who had previously played with Tony Hand in Dundee. Phoenix also re-signed Adam Summerfield as backup for Murphy. Soon after the season had started however, Grant Jacobsen left Manchester to return to Texas and was replaced by Lucas Burnett.
On Sunday 15 February 2009, the Phoenix made club history after beating the Basingstoke Bison 6 - 1 (11 - 3 on aggregate) in the semi-final second leg of the challenge cup, booking a place in their first Cup Final and a two-legged tie with the Belfast Giants in March. There was to be no fairytale ending for the Phoenix, as the Belfast Giants lifted the Challenge Cup. Phoenix were also beaten in the Final of the British Knockout Cup by the same opponents. Manchester would be defeated in two legs by the eventual EIHL Playoff runners up, the Nottingham Panthers. 
Despite the two cup final defeats, the 2008/09 season was a positive one for on-ice operations for Manchester, with the team playing an attractive and far more successful style than in previous years. They would finish the season in sixth place but had spent much of the season in a far higher league position. The Phoenix fans also enjoyed the play of David-Alexandre Beauregard, who won several awards for 'EIHL Player of the Season' and, as a result of his play is regarded by many Phoenix fans as the greatest player to wear the shirt. Problems arose off-ice though, and the club again struggled to balance the books. As a result, at the end of the season, the club declared its intention to move into the English Premier Ice Hockey League. 
==2009/10 Season==
Squad re-structuring for the 2009/10 season, the Phoenix' first outside of the EIHL began immediately with the announcement by the organisation that not only would Tony Hand continue to play, but that he had signed a three year deal as Phoenix Head Coach. Adam Walker, Luke Boothroyd, Carl Graham and Adam Summerfield were also confirmed as re-signed from the 2008/09 roster. They would be joined in a Phoenix shirt by returning goaltender Steve Fone as well as exciting British defenceman Joe Graham, young Scottish forward Iain Bowie and Phoenix ENIHL regular Ben Wood. 
Soon after Tony Hand would announce an exciting double coup with the addition of experienced EIHL and Calder Cup winner Andre Payette as well as the confirmation of Ed Courtenay in a player/assistant coach role. 
==ENL Affiliate==
In the summer of 2007, the Manchester Phoenix organisation announced the creation of a team to ice in the English National Ice Hockey League, the amateur level below the EPL. The creation of this semi-professional team was seen as the final step in a completely integrated youth development program. The team originally iced in the 'North 2' division of the ENL, but were promoted after a playoff win over the Blackburn Hawks. They initially bore the Phoenix name and play at the Altrincham Ice Dome, as does the senior team.
The team is currently coached by Paul 'Nipper' Bayliss. From August of 2009, the team was re-named to become the Trafford Metros, honouring the history of the team who skated on the Devonshire Road ice rink in Altrincham. Despite the name change, the Metros will continue to be the ENL affiliate of the Manchester Phoenix. 
==EPIHL Roster 2009/2010==
Players as of April 30th 2009
Goaltenders	Goaltenders	Goaltenders 	Goaltenders	Goaltenders	Goaltenders
Number 	 	Player 	Catches 	Acquired 	Place of Birth
30 	 	Adam Summerfield	L 	2007 	Whitehaven, England
31 	 	Steve Fone 	L 	2009 	Sheffield, England
Defencemen	Defencemen	Defencemen 	Defencemen	Defencemen	Defencemen 	Defencemen
Number 	 	Player 	Shoots 	Acquired 	Place of Birth 	
2 	 	Andre Mattsson	L 	2009 	Port Au Prince, Haiti	
4 	 	Luke Boothroyd	R 	2008 	Huddersfield, England	
10 	 	Joe Graham 	R 	2009 	Nottingham, England 	
15 	 	Ben Wood 	R 	2009 	Manchester, England 	
25 	 	Ryan Johnson 	R 	2009 	Sheffield, England 	
Forwards	Forwards	Forwards 	Forwards	Forwards	Forwards 	Forwards
Number 	 	Player 	Shoots 	Acquired	Place of Birth 	
7 	 	Andre Payette 	L 	2009 	Cornwall, ON, Canada	
8 	 	Greg Wood 	R 	2009 	Sheffield, England 	
9 	 	Tony Hand 	R 	2006 	Edinburgh, Scotland 	
11 	 	Robert Lachowicz	R 	2009 	Nottingham, England 	
12 	 	James Neil 	R 	2009 	Nottingham, England 	
27 	 	Ed Courtenay 	R 	2009 	Verdun, QB, Canada 	
29 	 	Adam Walker 	R 	2006 	Fife, Scotland 	
33 	 	Iain Bowie 	R 	2009 	Fife, Scotland 	
44 	 	Jaakko Hagelberg	L 	2009 	Tampere, Finland 	
Staff 	Staff	Staff 	Staff 	Staff 	Staff 	Staff
Number	 	Staff Member	Position 	Acquired	Place of Birth 	
9 	 	Tony Hand 	Player/Head Coach	2006 	Edinburgh, Scotland	
-- 	 	Paul Bayliss	Assistant Coach 	2008 	England 	
-- 	 	Paul Turner 	Equipment Manager	2005 	Sheffield, England 	
==Non-Returning Players==
Players confirmed as not returning to the club from the 2008/09 season;
Non-Returning Players	Non-Returning Players	Non-Returning Players 	Non-Returning Players	Non-Returning Players	Non-Returning Players 	Non-Returning Players
Number 	 	Player 	Acquired 	Released 	Released To 	
5 	 	Kenton Smith 	2008 	2009 	HC Valpellice Bulldogs 	
7 	 	Alex Dunn 	2008 	2009 	Odessa Jackalopes 	
10 	 	David-Alexandre Beauregard	2008 	2009 	HC Valpellice Bulldogs 	
16 	 	Brett Clouthier 	2006 	2009 	Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees	
27 	 	Luke Fulghum 	2008 	2009 	Coventry Blaze 	
31 	 	Stephen Murphy 	2008 	2009 	Belfast Giants 	
==Honours and Awards==
2003/04
* Jayme Platt - EIHL Second Team All Star
2006/07
* Johan Molin - EIHL Second Team All Star
2007/08
* Joe Tallari - EIHL First Team All Star
* 'Man of Ice' Awards - 'Hard As Ice' - Brett Clouthier
* 'Man of Ice' Awards - 'Best Newcomer' - Joe Tallari
2008/09
* Runner Up 2008/09 Knockout Cup
* Runner Up 2008/09 Challenge Cup
* Elite League Player of the Year - David-Alexandre Beauregard
* Best British Netminder - Stephen Murphy
* Best British Forward - Tony Hand
* David-Alexandre Beauregard - EIHL First Team All Star
* Tony Hand - EIHL Second Team All Star
* 'Man of Ice' Awards - 'Fans Favourite' - David-Alexandre Beauregard
* 'Man of Ice' Awards - 'Forward of the Year' - David-Alexandre Beauregard
* 'Man of Ice' Awards - 'Hard As Ice' - Brett Clouthier
* 'Man of Ice' Awards - 'Best Newcomer' - David-Alexandre Beauregard
* 'Man of Ice' Awards - 'Player of the Year' - David-Alexandre Beauregard
* 'Man of Ice' Awards - 'Outstanding Achievement' - Tony Hand
* 'Man of Ice' Awards - '4000 Points Total' - Tony Hand
==Retired Numbers==
* - Jersey retired for services to ice hockey in Manchester.
==Head Coaches==
Individuals who have been appointed Head Coach of the Manchester Phoenix;
* 2003-04 Rick Brebant
* 2004 Paul Heavey
* 2006- Tony Hand
==Club Captains==
Players who have captained the Manchester Phoenix;
* 2003-04 
* 2006-08 
* 2008-09 
==Two Team Players==
Players who have featured for both the Manchester Phoenix and the Manchester Storm in league fixtures;
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
==NHL Draftees==
Players who have played for the Manchester Phoenix who have been selected in NHL entry drafts;
NHL Draftees	NHL Draftees	NHL Draftees 	NHL Draftees 	NHL Draftees	NHL Draftees
Position 	 	Player 	Draft Position	Draft Year 	Draft Team
F 	 	Tony Hand 	252nd 	1986 	Edmonton Oilers
RW 	 	Ed Courtenay 	5th 	1991 Exp 	San Jose Sharks
D 	 	Jeff Sebastian 	115th 	1991 	Winnipeg Jets
LW 	 	Andre Payette 	244th 	1994 	Philadelphia Flyers
LW 	 	David Beauregard	271st 	1994 	San Jose Sharks
G 	 	Scott Fankhouser	276th 	1994 	St. Louis Blues
D 	 	Mike Lankshear 	66th 	1996 	Toronto Maple Leafs
LW 	 	K.C. Timmons 	141st 	1998 	Colorado Avalanche
LW 	 	Brett Clouthier 	50th 	1999 	New Jersey Devils
D 	 	Jeff MacMillan 	215th 	1999 	Dallas Stars
C 	 	Brian Passmore 	199th 	2000 	Minnesota Wild
RW 	 	Kyle Bruce 	231st 	2001 	Florida Panthers
C 	 	Grant Jacobsen 	270th 	2001 	St. Louis Blues
D 	 	Radoslav Hecl 	208th 	2002 	Buffalo Sabres
==Footnotes==
==External links==
*Manchester Phoenix Ice Hockey Club
Category:Established in 2003
Category:British ice hockey teams
Category:Elite Ice Hockey League team
Category:British National League team