Manchester Phoenix, EPL Champions!

This past Sunday saw Manchester taking on Swindon Wildcats in the final game of the season, needing to gain only one point to secure the EPL Championship. Swindon came out hitting hard, they didn't want to be the team that handed over the title, and with Guildford going full strength against the Tigers down in Telford, the race for the trophy was truly coming down to the wire.



But for everything that Swindon threw at Manchester, the Phoenix had an answer, refusing to be intimidated, and doing a fair bit of intimidation themselves. Swindon's Josef Kohut came in for particular attention, finding himself put down several times during the game:




The Phoenix knew that this was it, the League was theirs to lose, and they did everything they could to make sure that didn't happen. Even at 4-2 up, nobody was relaxing, and it was only when Curtis Huppe let fly for the empty netter did the pressure finally drop from the players's shoulders and the reality of being champions could start to sink in!





For me personally, all of the work that so many people had put in for so many years was paid off in that one evening. I've been with the Phoenix since before they were the Phoenix, I started working with the Manchester Storm before they folded, I was involved in setting up Friends Of Manchester Ice Hockey (FOMIH) with Neil Morris back in 2001, and I've worked behind the scenes at the Phoenix since the first skate hit the ice. All of the hours, the late nights working, the miles on the road, the bleary eyes in the edit suite, everything was worth it to see the trophy lifted!

Due to league restrictions on the publishing of photos of the medals and trophies and their presentations, I can't show you some of the shots that everyone wants to see here, at least not just yet. A week or so and those pictures will be up on here, but for now I can post some of the most incredible shots of hockey players that I have taken. I say that not out of technical skill or anything like that, but purely out of the emotion that these shots capture. Being one of the Phoenix's official snappers, I had the honour of being allowed out onto the ice with the players to capture their joy, their excitement, their relief, and their sheer energy:




That night is a night that I will never forget for as long as I live, and I hope that during my time with Phoenix I will see many many more nights just like it!

Manchester Phoenix, English Premier League Champions, 2010-2011 Season!

Full album can be seen on Flickr here: Phoenix v Wildcats