Adam Walker: Blog 1

Adam Walker: Blog 1

I’ve been asked to write a regular blog for the website to update you on how things are going here in Manchester throughout the season and the in’s and out’s of our first season in the EPL.

I have played in the EPL for a season before when I was at Swindon and it was a fantastic experience so when Tony (Hand) told me the club were taking a side step and moving into the EPL I was excited about it. So far the league has been a great experience and having played there before I knew what to expect and how tough it is going to be to win a trophy. A few of the guys in our team haven’t played in this league and I think they were really surprised as to how competitive it is. There is a lot of great British talent mixed with quality imports and I think that the fans in Manchester who were a little unsure about the standard of hockey being put in front of them are realising that now. So far at the Ice Dome we have had some great games and the fans seem to be enjoying them as much as the players are and that’s what Neil Morris and everyone involved at the club strive to achieve every night and that’s quality entertainment.

As for the start to the season the guys are pleased to have won five out of our six games so far. We were disappointed at losing the one to MK Lightning after out playing them for two periods but that happens sometimes and none of us expected to go the whole year without losing a game. There seemed to be a lot of talk before the season started that we were favourites to win the league but we have our feet firmly on the ground and know how tough it will be to win a trophy this year. We definitely have a good chance with the squad that Tony had put together. We have an excellent captain in Luke Boothroyd and he leads by example every night. Our imports are top quality and the British guys are doing very well.

From a personal point of view things have been going ok. I got my first goal last Sunday which was a long time coming as I had so many chances previous to that. Hopefully now I’ve got the monkey off my back there will be plenty more to come. A lot of people have been asking me about Andre Payette and how he is fitting in and to be honest he's been great. I know from playing against him the last three years he was a nuisance and a pain in the back side but to have him playing on your side is great and the fact he can both play skillfully and stick up for his team mates is a bonus to the Phoenix organisation. He is a great guy in the changing room and a lot of laughs come from his corner.

Walks

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4th February 2012 19:00
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4th February 2012 19:00
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4th February 2012 19:00
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4th February 2012 19:00
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4th February 2012 19:30
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5th February 2012 17:00
2-8
3rd February 2012 19:30
2-3
1st February 2012 19:15
1-4
29th January 2012 18:30
2-1
29th January 2012 18:00
1-6
29th January 2012 18:00
3-6
29th January 2012 18:00
  Club GP W L OL GF GA Pts
1 Belfast Giants 39 31 8 3 159 80 65
2 Nottingham Panthers 39 29 10 2 176 85 60
3 Sheffield Steelers 33 29 4 0 128 73 58
4 Coventry Blaze 39 24 15 1 147 112 49
5 Cardiff Devils 37 20 17 9 119 103 49
6 Braehead Clan 38 21 17 2 141 123 44
7 Hull Stingrays 40 11 29 4 107 162 26
8 Edinburgh Capitals 38 11 27 3 89 170 25
9 Fife Flyers 37 7 30 5 76 166 19
10 Dundee Stars 38 6 32 5 87 155 17
v
4th February 2012 18:00
v
4th February 2012 18:30
v
4th February 2012 18:30
v
4th February 2012 19:00
v
4th February 2012 19:30
v
5th February 2012 17:30
5-4
29th January 2012 18:00
3-2
29th January 2012 17:30
4-2
29th January 2012 17:30
5-4
29th January 2012 17:30
1-5
28th January 2012 19:00
5-2
28th January 2012 18:30
  Club GP W L OL GF GA Pts
1 Guildford Flames 36 24 12 3 163 105 51
2 Slough Jets 35 23 12 1 160 112 47
3 Manchester Phoenix 37 22 15 3 136 119 47
4 Sheffield Steeldogs 37 21 16 4 116 101 46
5 Milton Keynes Lightning 35 22 13 1 113 92 45
6 Basingstoke Bison 36 20 16 2 130 119 42
7 Swindon Wildcats 37 15 22 5 119 123 35
8 Bracknell Bees 36 12 24 8 106 142 32
9 Peterborough Phantoms 36 13 23 2 115 155 28
10 Telford Tigers 37 9 28 2 100 190 20
  Club GP W L OL GF GA Pts
  Club GP W L OL GF GA Pts
  Club GP W L OL GF GA Pts
  Club GP W L OL GF GA Pts
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