Bradford Bulldogs netminder Phil Pearson living the dream after stepping up for Manchester Storm

The Storm drew 6-6 at the Nynex Arena against Telford Tigers in the Benson & Hedges Cup. The memory has stayed with Pearson, now aged 34 and, this weekend he gets to fulfil a childhood dream of stepping out for them.

The Bradford Bulldogs netminder has been asked to step up three levels and fill-in as back-up to Storm’s first-choice goalie Jason Bacashihua, with regular No 2 James Downie having been loaned out to Elite League rivals Nottingham Panthers.

The Storm, the first incarnation of which folded in 2002 but returned under new ownership in 2015, were unable to make the play-offs this year and close out their regular season campaign with a double-header against Guildford Flames, the first instalment being on home ice at Planet Ice Altrincham on Saturday night (7pm).

MORE – Leeds Knights coach Ryan Aldridge urges players to embrace pressure of NIHL National play-offs

MORE - Leeds Knights Fans Jury: Down but not out as NIHL National play-off bid continues

Just like 27 years ago, Pearson’s mum Stella will be there to watch, only this time she will be alongside his wife Emma and six-year-old son Henry.

It will be a special couple of days and even if the chances of him getting any gametime may be slim, he is just happy being along for the experience.

“I grew up watching Storm and I went to their first-ever game,” said Pearson. “So to be able to train and just be on the bench and be in among the team is like a childhood dream come true.

“When you’re a kid you look up to teams like that and, at the time, they are obviously your heroes.”

Having been recommended to help Storm out during practice sessions from early March by goalie coach Dave Clancy, Stockport-born Pearson believes his game has improved, helping him for the Bulldogs in the closing weeks of an NIHL North Two campaign which saw them just miss out on the play-off finals weekend.

Having not taken to the ice until his early 20s - and not icing between 2013-2016 - this weekend is a significant achievement.

“When I first started at Storm, I wasn’t having the best of times at Bradford,” he added. “I was doing okay but I was in a bit of a slump. Training at Storm has helped get me out of that and I started to pick up towards the end of the season with the Bulldogs.

“It’s a lot quicker and you always have to be ready because it isn’t often that they miss the net - the biggest difference has been the speed, power and accuracy.

“When they asked me if I fancied being back-up, I jumped at the chance. I’m going into the weekend not expecting any ice time at all. If I do get on at all that would just be unbelievable and the icing on the cake.”

Storm head coach Ryan Finnerty, a former coach and player at Sheffield Steelers, said Pearson had quickly made himself a popular figure with the Storm roster.

“He’s been skating with us for a while now,” said Finnerty, “The guys love having him around and now he’s taking James Downie’s spot for the remainder of the season.

“It’s always good to see guys who supported this team as kids now get to play for us. I hope he enjoys the moment and I’m sure he’ll have some family watching him come Saturday.”

Pearson was quick to praise the influence of his head coach at Bradford, Andy Brown, who has recently returned from Estonia where he helped Great Britain Under-18s take bronze in the Division 2A World Championships.

“It was Bradford that gave me a chance of playing league hockey again back in 2016,” added Warrington-based Pearson. “Andy has been great, as have the manager Joanne Gibson and assistant coach Hannah (Gibson). The lads are great too - I love being in the Bulldogs changing room.

“It was disappointing to miss out on the finals weekend, but we’ve not been helped out with injuries and other players who were on two-way deals at times. So you do miss players like that but, all in all, it’s not been a bad season. If it had been 20 games instead of 16 I believe we’d have made the play-offs. We finished strongly but just ran out of games.”

Brown says the call-up to be Storm’s back-up netminder this weekend is just rewards for Pearson, who since early December has worked in tandem with fellow goalie, Sam Bolwell.

“Phil’s had en exceptional year for us and his game has really come on,” said Brown. “His stats speak for themselves and he is somebody who is prepared to work hard at his game week-in, week-out. We’re lucky to have been able to have both him and Sam Bolwell this season.

“To get an opportunity like this with the Storm is fantastic for him and just rewards for his efforts. He has been training with them for a while now and so he should fit in on their bench comfortably. Hopefully, he’ll get a bit of time in between the pipes but, if not, it will still be a great experience for him.”

SHEFFIELD TITANS and Hull Jets - two of Bradford’s NIHL North Two rivals - today start their campaign to try and end the 2021-22 season with some silverware.

The pair are in the semi-finals of the Final Four Laidler Finals play-off weekend at Widnes, where the final will be staged tomorrow.

Sheffield, who finished the regular season in fourth, one place above Bradford, will take on league champions Telford Tigers at 4.30pm, while runners-up Hull will face-off against Sutton Sting at 7.30pm. Sunday’s final will start at 4pm.

Next week, the North One Moralee Finals Weekend takes place in Leeds when regular season champions Solway Sharks, runners-up Whitley Warriors, Widnes Wild and Solihull Barons arein action.