PHANTOMS LOSE IN A 5-4 NAIL BITER

 

There is never a dull moment during a game between the Phantoms and their division rivals the Longshots.  This Saturday was no different as the Phantoms ended their fifth game of the season with a one goal loss.  Both teams played a very physical fast paced game, which made for an exciting and close game that came down to the wire. 

 

The Phantoms started strong with a goal from their captain Kaveh Mansoor, which came early in the first period in form of a slap shot at the point, tallying his fourth goal of the season.  It wouldn’t be long until the Longshots turned the heat up and started upping their physical play.  A little more than half way through the first period, Zaileen Janmohamed awkwardly went into the boards with one of the opposition and play came to a halt.  She was aided to the bench and was forced to sit out.  The Longshots were able to tie the game with 5:59 remaining in the first.  That goal was enough to end the period with the score tied at 1-1. 

 

In the second period it was all Phantoms as two goals were scored, first by Kaveh Mansoor, scoring his second of the game, and the other from Arif Janmohamed in a tremendous fore checking effort getting two back to back rebound opportunities and burying the puck in the back of the net on his third consecutive chance.  This put the Phantoms up by two at the end of the second, making it 3-1. 

 

However, the lead wouldn’t hold as the Longshots brought their “A” game to the third period, scoring three unanswered goals, with two of them being short handed.  All three goals were scored only 1 minute and 24 seconds apart, putting the Longshots in the lead 4-3.  Over half way through the third period, Zaileen Janmohamed was able to get back on the ice after sitting out almost two full periods, due to her earlier injury, and was determined to help the Phantoms tie the game up.  With the third period coming to a close, Max Chen sent an unexpected wing to wing pass to Christian Gericke who scored the game tying goal with 2:26 left in the third. 

 

The Phantoms now had 2 minutes and 26 seconds to walk away with at least one point.  With 1:48 left in the third, the Longshots were able to break the tie and take the lead 5-4.  In an attempt to tie the game again, the Phantoms had to pull net minder Stephen Sifers with a minute remaining.  The Longshots fought for possession and were able to get it out of their zone and attempted to score on the empty net, but the shot went wide in the dying seconds of the third.  The Longshots ended up victorious taking their second straight win against the Phantoms this season.  It was a hard fought game for both teams, but the Phantoms just came up short, giving them a current season record of 2-3-0-0. 

 

The last meeting between these teams ended in a 9-1 victory to the Longshots.  With two more meetings between these two teams, the Phantoms hope to even the series and take the next two games.

 

PHANTOMS DEFENSE SHINES IN 7-1 VICTORY

 

As the old saying goes, “The best offense is a good defense”.  On Sunday night’s game, the clichéd phrase couldn’t be truer.  In an impressive 7-1 victory over the Invaders, the Phantoms’ defensive unit was firing at all cylinders.  Not only did the defense put up eight out of the twelve points scored that night, they also kept the opposition to only one goal.

 

The Phantoms totaled 23 shots on net, with goals coming from Kaveh Mansoor, Edwin Cortez, Karim Damji, and new comer Brian Solbeck.  Solbeck was the only forward to get a goal on Sunday night’s game, being in the right place at the right time to tally his first goal of the season.  He also recorded an assist, which gave him a two point night.  Having only played two games, Solbeck already has five registered points, one goal and four assists.

 

The defensive units were on all night; Kaveh Mansoor scored the first two goals for the Phantoms, both in the first, and also got a helper, giving him a three point night.  Mansoor’s first goal came from a perfect pass from Steve Harish behind the net; his second was scored soon after with 5:21 left in the first Period.  Karim Damji also scored two goals, one of them being a powerplay goal in the second period.  While Edwin Cortez had an amazing four point night with two goals and two assists.  The Invaders had no answers to stop the scoring defensemen from putting the puck in the back of the net. 

 

With a solid game on both ends of the ice, it was easy for goaltender Stephen Sifers to get his fifth win of the season, stopping twelve out of thirteen shots.  The Phantoms came out on top and improved their season record to 5-3-0-0, giving them a three game winning streak, currently ranking them in third place, only three points behind first, and two behind second.  With the next game being against the second place Longshots, it should make for a very exciting game.

PHANTOMS GET BACK ON TRACK WITH 8-4 WIN

 

After losing 5-4 to the Longshots, then 8-4 to the Goaldiggers, the Phantoms were in need of winning their next couple of games.  Last week the Phantoms did just that by completely decimating the Ice Breakers in a 10-0 finish.  This game put the Phantoms back above .500.  The Phantoms went up against the Invaders this Sunday, also defeating them, winning 8-4 to get two wins in a row.  The Phantoms went into this game as the favorites and didn’t lose their chance to capitalize on that opportunity.

 

Early in the first period, Kaveh Mansoor shot a rocket wrist shot that clanked off the post and bounced into the back of the net to score the first goal of the game at 12:33.  The Invaders then turned their play around with a solid first period performance, keeping the Phantoms to scoring only one goal in the first.  With the first period winding down, the Invaders tied up the game 1-1 just barely beating the defense and getting a goal past the goalie with 2:15 left in the first. 

 

The second period wasn’t nearly as close as the first.  The Phantoms struck three times, scoring within five minutes.  Edwin Cortez was called for a tripping call early in the second period putting the Phantoms down one and on the penalty kill.  The powerplay was out and ready for the Invaders, but the Invaders were not able to convert.  Instead the Phantoms had a relentless forecheck being one down.  The Phantoms kept the puck in the zone, added pressure, and took shots on net whenever possible.  This made the powerplay for the Invaders very vulnerable and made the Phantoms look as if they were the ones on the powerplay instead.  Christian Gericke got the first short handed goal, parking himself right in front of the net to redirect the initial shot from Kaveh Mansoor.  Shortly after, Karim Damji scored again on the penalty kill putting the Phantoms up 3-1.  With one more goal coming from both sides, the second period came to a close with the Phantoms up 4-2.

 

The scoring only intensified with the game coming to a close.  Six goals were scored in the third period and things were starting to get a little heated.  Karim Damji started the scoring off by receiving a pass from Christian Gericke, who faked out the opposition with a spin move.  The Phantoms scored two more times putting them up 7-2.  Things started to get a bit chippy as the Invaders started to show signs of frustration.  Captain, Kaveh Mansoor got involved after the play in the corners along with Christian Gericke among others.  Edwin Cortez exchanged a few words with one of the Invaders, and things got a bit heated.  The Invaders were clearly disappointed in their play and looked to send out a message with the last few minutes remaining of the third period.  Upping their game and adding more intensity, the Invaders scored two unanswered goals, still putting them down three.  If the deal wasn’t already sealed, Kaveh Mansoor guaranteed it with an, almost, insult to injury goal, getting himself a hat trick with 1:01 to go in the third.

 

With these two teams playing again Wednesday night, look for the Invaders to play from beginning to end with the same last minute heroics of Sunday night’s game.  It should be interesting to see what both teams have to bring to the table.  The Phantoms now improve their record to 7-5-0-0.

 

3 Stars of the Game

  

1) Kaveh Mansoor

2) Christian Gericke

3) Max Chen

PHANTOMS EVEN UP SEASON SERIES WITH GOALDIGGERS

 

The past couple of weeks have been a rollercoaster for the Phantoms; defeating the Invaders 7-5 while having a very slim bench with only 9 skaters, getting decimated by the Longshots in a 10-3 loss, losing captain Kaveh Mansoor to surgery, and defeating the second place Goaldiggers this past Sunday with a 7-1 victory.  The victory came off as an upset since the Goaldiggers had been in first place for most of the season, and have won 2 out of the 3 games played against the Phantoms.  The Goaldiggers were looking to take the season series 3-1, but the Phantoms had other plans in mind.

 

Early in the first the intensity was there on both sides making for some great action.  The scoring got started by Steve Harish, getting his seventh goal of the season, coming from an assist by Arif Janmohamed.  A minute later, Arif Janmohamed had plans of his own to score, with a wrap around goal, increasing the lead to 2-0.  The remainder of the first stayed close and intense with both teams trading off powerplay opportunities, but neither of them was able to capitalize.  Stephen Sifers certainly shined in the first period, giving the Phantoms the momentum they needed to stay in the lead.  Edwin Cortez tripped up the Goaldiggers’ star player Garza, to prevent a clean shot from going to the net, causing a penalty shot to be awarded to the Goaldiggers.  Garza was denied and no ground was gained.  Then came an unbelievable stick save when Stephen Sifers stopped a shot going right, then rebounded left as the puck landed directly near one of the Goaldiggers.  The shot was taken, but Sifers threw himself across the crease stopping the puck with his stick, keeping the Phantoms up 2-0 at the end of the first.

 

The intensity and closeness of the game kept going as the second period started up.  Chances were exchanged back and forth, the stale mate of the second ended with Gus Alcazar getting a shot off of a puck that was caught in the skates of Brian Solbeck, scoring his second of the season.  Shortly after, the Goaldiggers scored one of their own making the score 3-1.  With the second period coming to an end and the score being as close as it was, things were about to pick up in the third. 

 

The Goaldiggers played a fierce quick game to start out the third period, but were shut down at every opportunity by Stephen Sifers and the defense.  At 5:51 Arif Janmohamed struck again, receiving a perfect pass from Andy Feifarek, making no mistake and burying the puck in the back of the net.  Frustration started to build amongst the Goaldiggers, and as a result Garza got into it with Andy Feifarek.  Garza took a shot at Feifarek’s face, which intensified matters and caused goaltender Stephen Sifers to step in and break up the commotion.  Penalties were given to all three players, which caused the Phantoms to be down, giving the Goaldiggers a powerplay opportunity.  The Phantoms were able to successfully kill the powerplay and keep the score at 4-1.  With 1:09 left in the third, a relentless forecheck from the Phantoms caused for a fifth goal to be scored.  This gave Arif Janmohamed his third goal of the night, also giving him his third hatrick this season, a Phantoms record, ahead of Kaveh Mansoor’s two.  The scoring wasn’t quite done yet though, as Max Chen shot low getting the puck behind the goalies pads, which ended up sitting on the goal line until it was kicked in by the goaltender himself.  With 41 seconds to go Steve Harish capitalized on a turnover in the neutral zone and picked his spot to make the game 7-1.  The Phantoms earned their second win against the Goaldiggers evening up the series 2-2.

 

With this win, the Longshots clinch first place, making it impossible for the Goaldiggers to take first, as they would be one point shy if they were to be victorious in their last game of the season.  The playoffs matches are now locked in and right around the corner.  It will be the Longshots versus the Invaders and the Phantoms versus the Goaldiggers one more time to break the 2-2 series tie.  Who will break the tie and move on to the finals?  We’ll have to wait and see come September 28th.  For now, the Phantoms have not to worry about the Goaldiggers, as they play the Ice Breakers for the season closer this Sunday.

 

 

 

3 Stars of the Game

1) Arif Janmohamed: 3 Goals, 1 Assist

2) Stephen Sifers: 19 Saves, .950 SV%

3) Steve Harish: 2 Goals

 

PHANTOMS END REGULAR SEASON ON A GOOD NOTE

The Phantoms defeated the Ice Breakers for the fourth time this season Sunday night.  It wasn’t an easy win though, as the Ice Breakers put up quite a fight hanging on until the Phantoms came alive during the third period.  Three Phantom players recorded two goals each on Sunday night’s victory; Edwin Cortez, Ramon Echeveste, and Gus Alcazar.  Positions were switched up quite a bit to give the Phantoms a different look for the last game of the regular season. 

The scoring started early at 14:07 as Gus Alcazar shot a wrister from the point and scored the first goal of the night.  At 11:22 Edwin Cortez scored the second goal of the night to put the Phantoms up 2-0.  However, the Ice Breakers would not go out without a fight.  At 8:23 the Ice Breakers notched up a goal and made the game 2-1.  Edwin Cortez was called for a holding call late in the first, giving the Ice Breakers a power play.  With only 30 seconds left to kill of the power play the Ice Breakers scored and tied the game at two all.

The Phantoms came into the second period looking to get back in the lead and wasted no time as Ramon Echeveste scored only 30 seconds into the second.  At 10:24 the Ice Breakers were called for a tripping call, this was the perfect opportunity for the Phantoms to increase their lead to two on the power play.  Wasting no time, the Phantoms grinded and fought for puck possession and kept the pressure up.  The puck eventually found its way to Zaileen Janmohamed’s stick.  She took the shot and the puck squeezed behind the goalie but ended up sitting right by the line.  Arif Janmohamed rushed towards the net and tapped the loose puck in to get the power play goal, and his fourteenth goal of the season.  Late in the second the Ice Breakers were still fighting to stay in the game, as they scored to make the game 4-3.  This made for an exciting close to the second, and both teams needed to pick up the intensity in the third in order to win.

The Ice Breakers took an early penalty in the third, once again, giving the Phantoms another opportunity to capitalize on the power play.  Gus Alcazar took possession of the puck in the Phantoms’ zone and skated out with it, building speed, he skated down the middle and was able to get past the defense and have a clean break at the net.  Alcazar took his shot and clocked the goalie in the mask, the puck bounced right back to him and he made no mistake putting the puck in the back of the net to put the Phantoms up by two.  Less than a minute later the Ice Breakers answered back with a goal of their own, once again putting them only one goal behind the Phantoms.  At 8:33 Edwin Cortez racked up his second goal of the game.  Shortly after, Ramon Echeveste also put in his second of the night.  The Phantoms were now up by a commanding three goal lead with 8:03 left in the game.  The Phantoms were successful in holding off the Ice Breakers for the remainder of the game, but not without some close calls.  With 3:50 left in the game, Edwin Cortez was called for holding.  The Ice Breakers had already converted with one power play opportunity and the Phantoms did not want them to convert a second time, especially the way the Ice Breakers had been playing all night.  One bad move from the power play unit turned into certain defeat for the Ice Breakers as Steve Harish intercepted the puck giving him a break away chance against the goalie.  Harish picked his spot and put in the final goal of the night, making it 8-4.

The Phantoms end the regular season with a record of 10-6-0-0.  The Phantoms also end the regular season with the most goals for in the division, with a whopping total of 98 goals.  The Long Shots were defeated 3-1 by the Goaldiggers in both teams’ season finale.  With the offense heating up on the Phantoms, and the defense being solid on the Goaldiggers, it should make for a very exciting playoff game this Sunday.

 

 

3 Stars of the Game
  
1) Gus Alcazar: 2 Goals, 2 PIM’s
2) Ramon Echeveste: 2 Goals
3) Edwin Cortez: 2 Goals, 4 PIM’s