2008 SUMMER SEASON AWARDS ANNOUNCED

 

The 2008 Summer season awards have been announced.  Here are the winners;

 

Points Leader (23):  Arif Janmohamed - Racking up an amazing 23 points in 14 games played, Arif Janmohamed led the team in points with 14 goals and 9 assists, averaging nearly 2 points per game, and a goal per game.  He also led the team with 3 powerplay goals and was also tied for first with 2 game winning goals and recorded 10 penalty minutes.

 

Goals Leader (16):  Kaveh Mansoor – With 16 goals being scored in 14 games played, Kaveh Mansoor was the team’s top scorer in the 2008 Summer season. An impressive stat, keeping in mind that Mansoor is a defenseman, but when the team needed goal contribution, they got it from their captain.  Mansoor finished the season with 21 points, adding 5 assists to his, team leading, 16 goals.  He was tied for second in overall points and was also tied for first with 2 game winning goals and recorded 10 penalty minutes.

 

Assists Leader (9):  Edwin Cortez, Arif Janmohamed, Brian Solbeck (3 way tie) – All three of these individuals had an outstanding season, but played completely different styles of hockey.  When it came down to what they had in common, it was the amount of helpers they were putting up.  All three individuals recorded 9 assists each, leading the team and paving the way for 27 out of 98 goals for the Phantoms in the 2008 Summer season. 

 

Rookie of the Season (as voted on by the Phantoms):  Stephen Sifers – In his first season in the PHA and with the Phantoms, Stephen Sifers came out with 10 wins and 6 losses and also recorded a shutout against the Ice Breakers on August 17th 2008.  He also ended the season with a 4.50 GAA, allowing 72 goals in 16 games and also recorded 2 penalty minutes against the Goaldiggers on September 14th 2008.  Sifers helped the team rebound from a catastrophic season (2007-2008 Winter) and gave the Phantoms a chance to win every night, making some highlight reel saves.  He also led all rookie goalies in wins and goals against.

 

Most Valuable Player (as voted on by the Phantoms):  Kaveh Mansoor – It comes as no surprise that the captain of this team gets the vote for MVP from his fellow teammates.  Mansoor represented everything a captain should be and led by example on and off the ice.  He showed heart and dedication to the team playing in the post season, only weeks after having shoulder surgery.  His dedication, hustle and skill, are only a few reasons why Kaveh Mansoor is team MVP for the 2008 Summer season.

PHANTOMS WIN SEASON OPENER IN OVERTIME

 

With the dawn of a new season ahead of them, the Phantoms are looking forward to having another successful season.  Early signs seemed to indicate that this season would be something special, as the Phantoms played the “C” division Californiens in an exhibition game, with a game that ended up going into overtime.  There was no clear winner, but the Phantoms matched the Californiens stride for stride and certainly played a well paced game against the veteran club which are in their 6th season (3rd season in C) and showed that they can skate with experienced teams.  The game ended up in a 3-3 tie but came off as somewhat of a moral victory to the Phantoms. The Phantoms have not been able to get passed the first round of the playoffs in their short history, but are looking to change that this season.  The Phantoms have been eliminated from the playoffs in the first round two consecutive times already.  Wanting to put that aside and push for a better season and post season, the Phantoms opened the 2008-2009 Winter season against the Ice Breakers.

 

The Phantoms were favored to win their first game of the season, but it certainly wasn’t an easy win.  With the first period under way, the Phantoms started strong and kept good pressure in the Ice Breakers’ zone.  Soon after, the Ice Breakers started matching the Phantoms and started to pressure equally.  With less than three minutes into the first, the Ice Breakers netted the first goal of the game.  Stephen Sifers made the initial save but the rebound landed right in the crease and was easily put in the back of the net.  The Phantoms responded quickly adding a goal of their own from Karim Damji at 10:25.  Playing a very close game thus far, the Phantoms netted another goal, this time from Brian Solbeck with an assist by Ramon Echeveste, late in the first with 4:26 to go.  However, the Ice Breakers would not let the game slip away from them as they scored less than a minute later to tie the game at 2-2.

 

The see-saw game continued in the second period as both teams played an excellent defensive game, holding out on the scoring until 4:38 when the Ice Breakers broke the tie and took the lead 3-2.  It wasn’t long until the Ice Breakers tallied another late period goal at 2:05 putting the Phantoms down by two.  With 29 seconds left in the second period, Arif Janmohamed scored a goal from an assist by Steve Harish, who was playing one if his best games yet, to put the Phantoms back by one goal.

 

The game continued to be close, but the Phantoms knew they needed to turn it up a notch in order to get back into this game.  The close battle continued throughout the third as the Phantoms had plenty of opportunities to tie up the game but were unable to capitalize early on in the period, thanks to the great goaltending and defense from the Ice Breakers.  At 6:49 in the third the Phantoms’ Captain, Kaveh Mansoor, tied up the game with a slap shot from the point that went through traffic and found the back of the net.  Both teams exchanged chances throughout the third period, but neither was able to get the go ahead goal.  With the score tied at 4-4, this game was going into overtime.  Quickly into overtime the Phantoms kept pressure in the Ice Breakers’ zone and were rewarded with the game winning goal from Christian Gericke, coming at 3:43.

 

A new face on the Phantoms this season is Gary Patterson, who has been a pleasant surprise to the team thus far, recording one assist in two games towards the end of last season.  He’s an excellent contribution to the team and should help the defense with his size (6’5”, 210).  The next game will be on Sunday November 9th against the Norse, who will be playing in their first season.  The Phantoms hope to keep things going and continue with a strong start to the season.

 

 

 3 Stars of the Game

1) Steve Harish: 1 Assist

2) Brian Solbeck: 1 Goal

3) Christian Gericke: 1 Goal

PHANTOMS STARTING STRONG

 

The Phantoms defeated the Norse this past Sunday, putting them on a two game win streak to start the season.  Both teams didn’t know what to expect from each other, as this was their first meeting ever.  The Norse are entering their first season in the PHA and appear to have a slight edge over the other team in their first season, the Arctic Monkeys.  Two familiar faces made their way back into the PHA, former Phantoms defensemen Eric Rogers and former Phantoms goaltender Charlotte Schaefer.  Since the Phantoms’ first season the roster has had a few additions and isn’t exactly the same team that Rogers and Schaefer played with.  Other than Rogers and Schaefer, the team has also been without the services of Patricia Lee for almost a full season.  With the additions of Andy Feifarek, Stephen Sifers, Brian Solbeck and Gary Patterson, the former Phantoms looked to defeat their old team in hopes of putting the Norse in first place.    

 

From the drop of the puck, it was all energy coming from the Phantoms.  The pressure was on from the line that started the game; Ramon Echeveste, Gus Alcazar and Zaileen Janmohamed.  Only 50 seconds into the game, and into their shift, the line of Echeveste, Alcazar and Z. Janmohamd scored.  Zaileen Janmohamed took possession of a loose puck and streaked to the net with Gus Alcazar on her right, and Ramon Echeveste trailing behind.  Janmohamed shot the puck and it squeezed by Schaefer’s pads and slowly slid towards the goal line, Gus Alcazar tapped the puck in and put the Phantoms up early in the first.  The pace continued in favor of the Phantoms as the same line was out there again, this time Joe Loucks took a shot from the point that was beautifully redirected into the net by Zaileen Janmohamed, putting the Phantoms up 2-0 early in the first.  With 5:58 left in the first Andy Feifarek scored from an assist by Arif Janmohamed.  The Norse were able to get themselves in the game scoring just a little over a minute after Feifarek’s goal, making it 3-1.  

 

Andy Feifarek got himself going in the first period, and got his first taste of scoring this season, playing his first game of the season.  That wouldn’t fully satisfy Feifarek however, as he was hungry to score more, and did just that three minutes into the second period to tally up his second goal of the night.  The Norse were called for a roughing penalty and put the Phantoms on the powerplay.  With, roughly, 30 seconds into the powerplay Brian Solbeck scored with an assist from Arif Janmohamed, as Solbeck and Ramon Echeveste crashed the net.  The Norse were able to hold off any further scoring from the Phantoms, but weren’t able to score as Stephen Sifers came out huge on some stops.  Most memorable, his flashy glove save in the first, which would have been a goal for sure had it not been stopped.  At 4:55 in the period, the Norse were called for tripping, putting the Phantoms up a skater.  Shortly into the attack, the Norse were called for hooking at 4:14.  This gave the Phantoms a two man advantage for 1:19.  The Phantoms were unable to capitalize on the powerplay, as the Norse broke up passes left and right.  The Phantoms still finished up the second period being up 5-1.

 

The early scoring in the period’s continued in the third, as Ramon Echeveste scored a goal with not much on it, but still managed to squeeze by Schaefer to continue the Phantoms’ dominance, making it 6-1.  At 9:00 Andy Feifarek would continue his score fest, netting his third of the night to get the hatrick.  The assists came from both Janmohameds, giving them each a three point night.  Arif Janmohamed recorded three assists, and Zaileen Janmohamed recorded one goal and two assists.  With 6:27 to go Ramon Echeveste would strike again in the third.  Matt Hoglund made the pass initially that gave Echeveste the chance to go coast to coast, as he shot the puck from a difficult angle and put the Phantoms up 8-1.  Ramon Echeveste had a strong night, recording two goals and also being out on the ice for the first two goals with Gus Alcazar and Zaileen Janmohamed, before the lines got jumbled up towards the middle of the game.  In the dying seconds of the game, the Norse capitalized on a scoring chance, as the defense was caught out of position, which created a 2 on 1. 

 

The Phantoms were victorious in the end having played a strong game and had solid goaltending all night from Stephen Sifers.  It was a good night for many players, notably for Andy Feifarek with the hatrick and both Janmohameds which were all over the score board.  The Phantoms will square off with the Invaders this coming Sunday.  The Invaders have currently played one game, which they won in overtime 3-2 over the Ice Breakers.  Last season the Phantoms went 4-0-0-0 against the Invaders.  The Phantoms hope to extend their streak to three and stay perfect against the Invaders on Sunday.    

 

 

 

3 Stars of the Game

  

1) Andy Feifarek: 3 Goals

2) Zaileen Janmohamed: 1 Goal, 2 Assists

 3) Ramon Echeveste: 2 Goals

PHANTOMS INCREASE STREAK TO THREE

 

The Phantoms looked to increase their winning streak to three wins Sunday night against the Invaders.  Last season the Phantoms went undefeated against the Invaders, sweeping the season series in four games.  With this being the first of four meetings this season, the Phantoms hoped to extend the streak to five games against the Invaders, continuing from last season.  Yet another new face to the Phantoms this season is Mike Demeo.  Demeo has been out of the hockey scene for quite some time, previously playing with Flip Wilson, but just joined the Phantoms.  His past hockey experience makes for a tremendous asset and key to helping the Phantoms go far this season. 

 

On the first shift of the game, with only 23 seconds in, the Invaders capitalized on a scoring opportunity putting them up 1-0, as they had the Phantoms scrambling in their own zone from the drop of the puck.  Only a minute later the Phantoms struck as Christian Gericke scored with an assist, already coming, from newcomer Mike Demeo.  Not a bad way to show the team that he was ready and willing to contribute right away.  At 8:18, Edwin Cortez was called for tripping, putting the Invaders on the man advantage.  Having only killed off 30 seconds of the power play, the Phantoms fell, yet again, to a one goal deficit.  With the closing minutes of the first period, Brian Solbeck tied the game as he rushed the net, ran out of room, and still managed to fake the goalie to get the goal from the assist by Ramon Echeveste. 

 

The second period would prove to be exciting, despite the lack of scoring goals.  With 6:14 left in the period Andy Feifarek went into boards with one of the opposition.  Feifarek went down and was pushed into the boards as he was falling.  Feifarek retaliated and took matters into his own hands and elbowed the player who put him into the boards.  To the surprise of everyone, Feifarek was called for elbowing but the Invaders were not called for the initial hit, whether it be roughing, interference or boarding, it didn’t matter, no call was made and Andy Feifarek would make his case to the referees showing them that his chin had been cut and was bleeding.  Instead of calling the Invaders for a double minor, it was Feifarek who would make his way to the box for elbowing and an unsportsmanlike conduct call for arguing with the referee, serving four minutes in the box.  Due to the blood on his equipment, Feifarek would have to leave the game temporarily until he changed equipment and was good to go back.  Gus Alcazar took Feifarek’s spot in the box while he was undergoing repairs.  The four minute double minor penalty was successfully killed off by the Phantoms and was a huge kill that could have easily had the Invaders up 3-2.  Late in the second the Invaders were called for hooking.  This gave the Phantoms the man advantage.  The Phantoms put good pressure in the Invaders’ zone, constantly on the attack.  Gus Alcazar held onto the puck and was pursued in the zone, when he dropped passed it to Edwin Cortez.  The pass was off and the puck went out of the zone.  The Phantoms quickly recovered re-entering the zone, Cortez shot and created a small rebound, and Alcazar took the puck and passed it to Christian Gericke who buried the puck in the net, scoring the lone goal of the second period on the power play.  This broke the tie and put the Phantoms up 3-2 at the end of the second.

 

The Invaders looked to tie the game and regain the lead that they had twice in the first period.  The offense continued for the Phantoms, as Brian Solbeck scored his second of the night, with assists coming from, yet again, Mike Demeo and Andy Feifarek, who was back in the game after his earlier injury.  Shortly after, the Phantoms continued to press hard and stay on the attack, as Gus Alcazar would score with heavy traffic in front of the net.  This gave the Phantoms more insurance as they went up 5-2.  However, the Invaders quickly responded with a goal of their own just 42 seconds later, putting them down by two.  With 5:00 to go in the third, Christian Gericke would net his third of the night to get the hat trick, putting the Phantoms back up by three.  As the final seconds of the third period approached, Brian Solbeck would also net his third of the night to get himself a hat trick as well.  This sealed the deal for the Phantoms who were now up 7-3 with 48 seconds left in the game.  Twelve seconds later the Invaders scored one last time to end the game at 7-4.

 

The Phantoms are off to an amazing start this season, so far recording 3 wins in 3 games and outscoring the opposition 20 to 10.  This is the first time in the team’s history that they have started a season 3-0.  Mike Demeo certainly had an impressive debut with the Phantoms, picking up two assists in his first game.  The Phantoms couldn’t be any happier with his play.  With Brian Solbeck and Christian Gericke heating up with a hat trick each, expect them to light the lamp some more on November 30th against the Arctic Monkeys.

 

3 Stars of the Game

  

1) Brian Solbeck: 3 Goals

2) Christian Gericke: 3 Goals

3) Gus Alcazar: 1 Goal, 1 Assist

 

PHANTOMS CONTINUE TO ROLL WITH 9-1 VICTORY

For the first place Phantoms to stay in first, they needed a win this Sunday to gain more ground on the second place Ice Breakers, who were only one point behind the Phantoms with 5.  The Phantoms would face off against the Arctic Monkeys for the first time in both teams’ history.  Looking to get the win and go 4-0-0-0 this season, the Phantoms were in full out attack on Sunday defeating the Arctic Monkeys by a huge margin of 9-1.

The scoring got started at 9:30, as Ramon Echeveste would get the first goal of the night with assists coming from Danielle Dubois and Brian Solbeck, who has been on a roll this season.  Brian Solbeck had an amazing rookie season last season with the Phantoms and posted 15 points in 10 games.  Solbeck continues to contribute in every game he’s played so far this season.  Late in the first period Brian Solbeck would strike as he would score the second of the night for the Phantoms, and also recorded a four game goal streak this season.  Currently, no other Phantom has scored in every game this season except for Solbeck.

With a tight first period, the Phantoms looked to open up the scoring in the second to expand their 2-0 lead.  Gus Alcazar would deliver the third goal of the night to the Arctic Monkeys, as a 2 on 1 developed between Steve Harish and Gus Alcazar.  The initial shot from Harish rebounded right to Alcazar’s backhand and was put in as the goalie was down and out.  The pressure from the Phantoms would continue to be a force, despite a slow start to the game for the Phantoms, not getting too many opportunities in that first period.  As a result of all the offensive zone pressure, Zaileen Janmohamed would net her second goal of the season with 7:30 to go in the second.  With 4:07 left in the second, Steve Harish and Gus Alcazar would work together once again to get another goal for the Phantoms.  Steve Harish skated to the left and passed to Gus Alcazar, as his shot was partially blocked from one of the Arctic Monkeys, but still managed to find its way into the back of the net.  In the last minute of the period, Ramon Echeveste would record his second goal of the night, with assists coming from Danielle Dubois, who was having one of her best games yet to date making great decisions and break out passes, and from Andy Feifarek, who had already assisted in Alcazar’s first goal.  The second period ended with the Phantoms being up 6-0.

The Phantoms wouldn’t let off the gas as they continued to press hard and pressure the Arctic Monkeys in their own zone for lengthy periods of time in the third.  Wasting no time, with only a minute into the third period, Christian Gericke took the puck and buried it, putting the Phantoms up by a huge lead of 7-0.  Only two minutes later, the Phantoms would strike once again, this time from Steve Harish with the lone assist coming from Edwin Cortez.  Soon after, Christian Gericke would tally up his second goal of the night with Arif Janmohamed recording an assist.  Christian Gericke has recorded 5 goals in the last 2 games and has 6 goals on the season.  Last season Gericke recorded 4 goals in 10 games.  He has already surpassed his goals total from last season and is only 3 points back of passing his point totals from last season.  With about three minutes remaining in the game, the puck went right into Gary Patterson’s feet.  Patterson was unable to gain possession quick enough but the Arctic Monkeys were, as they managed to score on a breakaway ending Stephen Sifers’ shutout.

With the one goal from the Arctic Monkeys being the only blemish of the night, the Phantoms had a complete game from both the offense and defense scoring the most goals the Phantoms have had this season (9), and also allowing the fewest goals against this season (1).  Ten different Phantoms players recorded points this game, fourteen played.  The Phantoms hope to extend their, already, impressive streak to five against the Ice Breakers on December 7th.  The previous time the Phantoms and Ice Breakers met, the game went into overtime and was won by the Phantoms 5-4.  The Ice Breakers are currently second in the division and hope to take this game from the Phantoms to climb higher in the standings.

3 Stars of the Game
  
1) Steve Harish: 1 Goal, 2 Assists
2) Brian Solbeck: 1 Goal, 2 Assists
3) Ramon Echeveste: 2 Goals

 

PHANTOMS REMAIN UNDEFEATED IN FIVE

The Phantoms continue to improve on their best start ever.  Sunday night the Phantoms defeated the Ice Breakers in what was a closer game than the score board would show.  The Ice Breakers looked to take this one away from the Phantoms, which would have put them in second place and tied them for 8 points with the Phantoms.  The last time these two teams met, it was an intense season opener for the Phantoms, as they were taken into overtime and were successful in defeating the Ice Breakers 5-4.  The Phantoms seem to have taken that overtime win as a wake up call and have ran with it outscoring the opposition 23 goals to 7 since that game.  Stephen Sifers has been heating up as of late, allowing 7 goals in the past three games with a 2.33 GAA.  Brian Solbeck has also been on a tear as of late, dating back to when he joined the Phantoms early last season, recording at least one point in the past six regular season games.  With the Ice Breakers wanting to take this game away, it was obvious that this game would be a test for both teams.

The Phantoms came out of the gate firing at all cylinders, keeping the attack in the Ice Breakers’ zone for what seemed to be half of the first period.  The Ice Breakers would also come out strong however.  The Ice Breakers soon started to match the intensity of the Phantoms and started building on that and began to add pressure in the Phantoms’ zone.  The Phantoms were clicking with their passing like never before, creating multiple scoring opportunities.  One timers, screens, set ups, shots from the point, it was all there but the scoring.  The sole reason for not scoring was the Ice Breakers goaltender James Hannon.  He stopped everything in his path during the first period and was perfect.  With 7:19 left in the first, Jon Quezada of the Ice Breakers was called for slashing.  This was the perfect opportunity for the Phantoms to capitalize on their scoring chances and take the lead.  The Phantoms were able to stay in the opposition’s zone for much of the power play and created scoring chances, but once again were denied time after time by Hannon.  The period ended in a 0-0 tie, with the Ice Breakers having an impressive and strong first period.  The Phantoms also had a strong first, but had to step it up in order to score in the second.

The defensive battle of both teams would continue in the second, as would Hannon’s domination of the Phantoms offense.  The first goal of the game was finally scored by Ryan Watson of the Ice Breakers, as Brian Solbeck, Christian Gericke and Gus Alcazar were on heavy attack mode, creating chance after chance, until a miss cued shot from Christian Gericke fumbled off his stick and was taken by the Ice Breakers.  Watson made a nice move to get by the defense, picked his spot, and put the Ice Breakers up 1-0 early in the second.  No more scoring came from the second period, but the Phantoms continued to play their game, putting pucks on net and passing the puck well to continue creating opportunities.  The Ice Breakers also continued to play a strong game, both offensively and defensively as both teams would go back and forth for the remainder of the second period.

The Phantoms were down by one, but determined to tie it up as they stuck with the game plan of getting pucks on net.  Early in third Gus Alcazar made a pass from blue line to blue line as Christian Gericke took the pass which created a breakaway opportunity.  Gericke made no mistake and finally got one past Hannon to tie the game at 1-1.  With the score now tied, both teams were pressing even harder to get the go ahead goal.  That go ahead goal would come from the Phantoms at 6:55, as Christian Gericke would strike again scoring his second of the night with the assist from Edwin Cortez.  Only 26 seconds later, the Ice Breakers would tie the game getting one past Stephen Sifers.  Yet again, the Phantoms would answer immediately as Arif Janmohaed wristed a shot to get past the goaltender putting the Phantoms in the lead once again, assisted by Karim Damji with 6:18 to go in the third.  Only 30 seconds after Janmohameds goal, Steve Harish would score to get the insurance goal for the Phantoms.  Harish played a strong game and was finally rewarded for his efforts.  Arif Janmohamed would also get the assist on Harish’s goal, giving him a two point night.  The Ice Breakers continued to play hard, but seemed to be showing signs of fatigue, as the Phantoms showed no signs of stopping now.  The final blow came when the Phantoms scored with 44 seconds left in the game.  Christian Gericke won the face off in the Ice Breakers zone as Gus Alcazar would retrieve the puck and pass it to the point where, the former right winger turned defender, Matt Hoglund was ripping slap shots all night.  Hoglund wound up and let a shot rip that Hannon would initially stop, causing a rebound to come right to Brian Solbeck, who roofed the puck above Hannon as he went down and committed too soon, putting the Phantoms up 5-2.  Solbeck kept his scoring streak going to five games in a row this season, scoring in every game so far.

Things got a bit rough towards the end as frustration started to show from the Ice Breakers.  The Ice Breakers would pull their net minder to get the extra attacker.  Stephen Sifers faced some late shots and covered the puck.  Sifers was getting whacked from the Ice Breakers after the whistle blew but Joe Loucks would come to his goalie’s aid as a small scrum developed which had to be broken up by the referees.  With the empty net at the other end of the ice, the Phantoms were able to skate it into the Ice Breakers zone, but were unable to get a shot on net as the puck went into the corner.  Both teams battled for it, but eventually Edwin Cortez would fall on top of the puck and would also be hacked at.  Brian Solbeck stepped in, as an end of the game scrum was close to breaking out.  The Ice Breakers, obviously frustrated with letting this game slip, were not able to defeat the Phantoms or creep up in the standings to tie the Phantoms in points, but they played a tough game and threatened to end the streak for the Phantoms.  Things are heating up between these two teams and should make for some exciting hockey next time they face off on January 18th.  The Phantoms get to rest for a week and then go back to work to face off against the Norse for the second time this season, once again, facing former teammates, Eric Rogers and Charlotte Schaefer. 

 

3 Stars of the Game
  
1) Christian Gericke: 2 Goals
2) Arif Janmohamed: 1 Goal, 1 Assist
3) Matt Hoglund: 1 Assist

 

PHANTOMS DEFEAT PHYSICAL NORSE TEAM 6-3

Starting a season 5-0-0-0 isn’t exactly a bad thing, but it can prove to be difficult while a five game winning streak to start the season can get to a teams head.  Fortunately, this hasn’t happened to the Phantoms, as they have stuck with the game plan and have stayed focused on winning and playing their game.  It wasn’t long ago when the Phantoms ended their first regular season with a disastrous record of 1-15-0-0.  Now in their third season, the Phantoms have completely turned that around, with a few changes made to the team, and chemistry building strong within, it looks as if there’s no stopping the Phantoms.  The last meeting between the Phantoms and the Norse ended in an 8-2 win for the Phantoms.  In hopes of retribution, the Norse hoped to end the winning streak and climb closer to first place; this would only put the Norse two points behind the Phantoms and lock them into second place. 

As the Phantoms have done in games before, they started the scoring, and started it early.  Kaveh Mansoor scored his second of the season, unassisted, wristing one past the Norse goaltender Schaefer.  With the early lead in hand, the Phantoms knew they had to insure their lead, as this Norse team was playing some fast paced hockey and were looking to tie the game immediately.  With 10:38 to go in the first, Ramon Echeveste would score from an assist by Brian Solbeck, making the game 2-0 early in the first.  Echeveste and Solbeck have been on fire as of late when on the same line, creating chance after chance.  Stephen Sifers had a brilliant night, making two amazing saves in the first.  Sifers would deny the Norse as he stacked the pads and kicked the puck away on one save.  Another close call that seemed to be a definite goal was on a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced up, only to make its way directly back down.  Sifers gloved the puck from behind him as the puck was dropping back down to deny the Norse a chance at closing in on the score.  The early lead would not hold, however, as the Norse were pressuring and forcing the Phantoms to make bad passes and sloppy plays.  This led to an eventual late goal in the first to give the Norse a much deserved goal and even more needed momentum.    

The Norse would give the Phantoms a taste of their own medicine, as they scored early in the second taking that momentum and tying the game two goals a piece on each side.  The Phantoms were scrambling to get the go ahead goal and were still being very well pressured defensively by the Norse.  The physicality of the Norse would prove to be a problem, as this would be the first game this season that the Phantoms were being outplayed physically.  The game would remain close and very even, until Arif Janmohamed took the puck behind the oppositions net and made a perfect pass to Max Chen who put the puck past Schaefer putting the Phantoms up 3-2 with 7:53 left in the second.  Towards the end of the second, Ramon Echeveste would strike again for his second goal of the night, but not without some help from Arif Janmohamed and Max Chen, who would both record their second points of the night getting an assist each on Echeveste’s goal.  The score was now 4-2 in favor of the Phantoms.  With time running out in the second, the Phantoms were in pretty good shape heading into the third with a two goal lead.

The Norse had to turn up the intensity a notch and use their whole bag of tricks in order to tie the game back up being down two goals to start the third.  The Phantoms would prove to hold on to that lead and play well defensively, as they have done in prior games this season.  Earlier in the game, the Phantoms were guilty of giving up one too many odd man rushes and breakouts.  This was due to the defense pinching in deep in order to create more offense.  With a nice cushion, the defense could now focus on strictly denying the opposition any opportunities to even up the game.  Protecting the lead was important, but for Ramon Echeveste, it was about getting more insurance.  With 8:56 to go in the third, Echeveste would score his third goal of the night, recording his first hat trick ever, with the assist coming from Max Chen once again.  Only a minute after, Echeveste would strike again, tallying four goals on the night.  This also gave him a natural hat trick, starting from his second goal of the night.  Ramon Echeveste couldn’t have chosen a better time to heat up, putting the Norse well out of reach of the game and giving the Phantoms a 6-2 lead with a little over half a period to go.  The Norse would respond quickly, netting a goal of their own less than a minute later to make the score 6-3.  With roughly four minutes to go in the third, Edwin Cortez was called for tripping.  This was exactly what the Norse needed.  If they could capitalize early with the man advantage, they would only be two goals away with roughly three minutes and change to go to get two more goals, and would most likely attempt pulling Schafer to get the extra attacker.  Thankfully for the Phantoms, the penalty killers were successful and no harm came from the man advantage.  Play came to a stop and the game was over, giving the Phantoms a six game win streak. 

The Phantoms are certainly a force this season and have no intentions of stopping now, as the team would like to break away from the pack and stay in first.  The big picture of course is to advance to the second round of the playoffs and win the championship game.  If the Phantoms clinch first, they would face the fourth seed, giving the Phantoms a bigger advantage than the second seed playing the third seed.  The Phantoms are hoping to continue to get contribution from all their players, and hope that Ramon Echeveste and Max Chen will continue to stay hot after taking two weeks off before facing off against the Invaders on January 4th.  The Invaders have started the season slowly, currently in fourth place with five points, only one point ahead of the last place Arctic Monkeys.  Stay tuned, as the Phantoms hope to stay undefeated in a hard fought season thus far.

 

3 Stars of the Game
  
1) Ramon Echeveste: 4 Goals
2) Max Chen: 1 Goal, 2 Assists
3) Arif Janmohamed: 2 Assists