Roar on the Phantoms
- Lauren Shiels
- Jun 12
- 7 min read
Lauren Shiels watches one of the city’s lesser-known sports, the first in a new feature series showcasing Peterborough’s sports teams.
We may be in the lusts of Spring as the warm weather comes, but don’t put your hats and scarves away just yet. You need to head to Planet Ice to watch Peterborough Phantoms ice hockey team. It’s vastly becoming the biggest indoor sport and fastest growing winter sport in the UK.
The Peterborough Phantoms are one of eleven teams competing in the National Ice Hockey League, the second tier of UK’s ice hockey pyramid. They play their matches at Planet Ice in Bretton, Peterborough, and are known for their ability to produce and develop high end talent.
A couple of months ago, the team played its home derby against Milton Keynes Lightning, a sell-out of 1,250. The rink goes pitch black, with illuminous vignette lights appearing across the rink. Players skate onto the ice, their names echoing over the tannoy system. Before facing off, the national anthem bellows across the rink. The first of many signals identifying that ice hockey is from over the Atlantic.
I walk into the club shop in search of a souvenir. Underestimating how cold the rink would be, I sensibly brought a scarf. At the kiosk, I explained to the employee that it was my first game. He walked away and promptly returned with a puck. “This is for you,” he said. What a kind gesture I thought.
The atmosphere is carnival-like; half sports game, half disco. There is certainly not the problem of not enough shots. It’s different to football; in a good way. Players travel as fast as cars across the ice. When they collide – which happens a lot – you hear it. When they fight – which happens a lot – you can’t help but offer encouragement.
I walk around the concourse and soon find myself talking to some fans. Long-term followers named Ruth and Graham told me they started watching the Phantoms over two decades ago. About the club, they said: “We’re a decent outfit for the level we are playing at and what finances we’ve got. We’ve done well over the years. It’s a lot more of a fan sport than compared to the likes of football.”
It was clear early on that the couple were right. Despite the crowd being only over a 1000 inside Planet Ice, it felt no different to watching at Peterborough United’s football stadium with over 10,000 people in the stands.
Father and son duo, John and Luke, were returning for a second time and bought some friends with them to the game. John said: “The reason for coming back again and bringing others with us is because it was a really good experience and most importantly it’s a family friendly environment.”
The duo describes the game as: “it’s quick, aggressive, exciting, non-stop action. Loud, lots of crowd involvement.” They were definitely right.
IT’S QUICK. AGGRESSIVE. EXCITING. NON-STOP ACTION. VERY LOUD.
I spotted young couple Sophie and Max in the concourse – two of many wearing replica jerseys. They said: “We’ve been coming for just over a year now. The atmosphere is great even when we lose there’s still people who stay to clap and the children give high-fives to the players too.”
When asked what persuaded them to continue watching the Phantoms, Sophie replied: “it’s a little bit like UFC on ice sometimes. The first game we ever came to, that’s probably what got us hooked. It was against Sheffield (Steelers) and both teams ended up coming back onto the ice and having a full on brawl. That is probably one of my highlights.”
IT’S A LITTLE BIT LIKE UFC ON ICE SOMETIMES.
Whilst I didn’t witness a left hook like Conor McGregor or hell-blows of Jon Jones, I did watch several punches and team brawls. It was a derby after all – so fighting was understandably inevitable. I couldn’t help myself but to offer encouragement as they fought. I lost count of how many times players were given a time-out – it’s just unfortunate there were more Phantoms players than Lightning players sidelined.
With two intervals to repair the ice, I made the most of my time and explored the food and drink that was available. There were regular kiosks serving traditional food that you would see at any sports complex; from pies to hotdogs, sweets to fizzy drinks. It was a sign for Papa Johns that caught my eye though; and I pounced on their promotions to buy a pepperoni pizza, cheesy tater tots and lemonade. Alongside a grab bag of crisps, it came to just £13. The menu had lots to offer, catering for all the family, with children’s meal deals available alongside sweets and doughnuts – not your staple concourse item.
Whilst I waited for my food to be ready, I was given a pager so I could continue watching the action until it buzzed. What a great idea – and something you don’t see in other sports where you’re forced to abandon the match in a quest to relieve your hunger. The food itself was piping hot which I devoured quickly whilst watching the ice.
There is no doubt that ice hockey is a family-friendly sport, even with the occasional fight. Every pause in play is promptly filled in with a different snip it of a catchy song. Ice hockey is the only place where you’ll hear ‘The Greatest Showman’ followed by ‘Sweet Caroline.’ This corny music, another reminder of where ice-hockey originates from.
The second interval saw a game for children take place on the ice. Each child was given a disc to throw onto the ice towards various prizes including sweets; the closest disc won the prize. What a great game to get the younger fans involved in.
The family-feel didn’t stop there. Although the Phantoms lost 6-1, a majority of fans stopped to clap the teams off. Unexpectedly, both skaters from the Phantoms and Lightning, applauded every fan home or away. Something you would never witness in football. Not long after the final whistle, fans were able to meet a few of the skaters for autographs. A regular occurrence with the Phantoms. A level of fan engagement, second to none.
On my way out, I bumped into a former colleague and started chatting to her about the Phantoms. Ashlea told me: “My partner and I had season tickets through his work and although he has since left that role we frequently come down when we get the chance to. It’s been impressive to watch them work together and progress like they have over recent years even with losing some big players in the past. I think it definitely has the chance to become a big sport as it’s always such a family friendly game and the atmosphere gets everyone involved.”
Ashlea also spoke about watching the Phantoms second team: “We’ve been to a lot of the Phantoms 2’s games as we’re neighbours of Kenny (Davin) and we love going to watch him.”
One of the unique things about Peterborough Phantoms is its youth development. Of this seasons’ Phantoms squad, 12 skaters had come through the junior system. 50% of the squad is home grown having coming through either or both of the junior system and second team, a percentage matched in each of the past five seasons.
One of these is no.8 Louie Kynaston. The 17 year-old – sponsored by UCP – has enjoyed a breakthrough season with the Phantoms, topped off by representing Great Britain Under 18s in the World Junior Championships this Spring.
“I was inspired to start ice hockey through my brothers, and I’ve been coached by my dad too. I wear the no.8 because that’s the number my dad had so, I wanted to keep the family tradition going.” It’s safe to say ice-hockey is in Louie’s bones.
The no.8 has played almost 60 times for the Phantoms this season: “At the start of the season, I just wanted to work hard and take any opportunity I got. As a young kid you aren’t expecting much so I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given to help me learn and develop throughout the season.”
Jon Kynaston, Head of Phantoms Juniors, spoke about recent call-ups internationally for Phantoms skaters. “International recognition is strong from a club with a number of junior players, we excel at developing high end talent.”
Alongside Louie representing Great Britain Under 18s, other Phantoms have played for Great Britain including Billy Thorpe, Bradley Bowering and Archie Salisbury for the Under 20s - the latter now at local rivals MK Lightning.
Fellow home-grown talent success includes Luke Ferrera who has represented the Great Britain senior side and competed in the Elite Ice Hockey League for both Sheffield Steelers and Coventry Blaze. Ferrera lifted the title in consecutive seasons during his time with the Steelers. It is clear the numbers don’t lie with seven players in recent years competing in the UK’s top division having come through the Phantoms.
Planet Ice has a capacity of 1,250 with the Phantoms having a total following of 15,000 on Instagram and X combined. Whilst this is far behind the social media of Peterborough United, it’s on par with non-league club Peterborough Sports. Whilst it’s ludicrous to say that ice hockey will one day replace football’s place in English culture, the sport is growing. It only cost £15 to watch Phantoms whereas it would cost double that to watch Peterborough United.
The atmosphere I witnessed at Planet Ice seemed incredibly inclusive. It’s a family friendly environment with crowds cheering on passages of play from the sidelines. Even as a new spectator, the sport was fast-paced and exciting. The fans were so welcoming – there’s plenty of the likes of Ruth and Graham around to teach newbies like myself the rules. I will definitely be returning to watch the Phantoms again; bringing along more friends next time, and there’s no reason why shouldn’t either.
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