MAN of the match Frantisek Bakrlik netted one and helped with four others as he led Manchester Phoenix past Bracknell on Sunday.

After going down 5-1 the previous night against Basingstoke in a top of the table clash, Phoenix were eager to put things right against the Bees and a third period treble eased Tony Hand’s side past the Berkshire outfit.

Goals from Robin Kovar and Hand either side of a Smital strike gave Phoenix a 2-1 lead at the first break whilst both teams traded powerplay goals in the middle session to keep Phoenix in front.

But a third period blast from the home side put Phoenix out of sight. Kovar netted his second of the night, Andy McKinney put in goal number five as he batted the puck down out of mid air before thumping it past Bee’s netminder Alex Mettam and Bakrlik finished the scoring after a dominant display.

Phoenix are two points adrift of leaders Basingstoke but still have three games in hand in their pursuit of their second league title in four years.

Next weekend Hand’s side face the tough task of three games in three days, they will face Sheffield Steeldogs on Friday over the Pennines before travelling to Bracknell on Saturday. They conclude their weekend’s action against Swindon Wildcats at home on Sunday.