SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2004 • HNA
BEGINNER LEAGUE
PHANTOMS vs. BLACKBEARS
Phantoms 2 -- Blackbears 6
BENSENVILLE, IL – The Chicago Phantoms took to the ice
for their first regulation game this past Saturday, and this
intrepid reporter is pleased to announce that they were not
god awful. Heck, they weren’t even half-bad.
Playing against the Blackbears of Tier 6 (one division above
the beginner league), the Phantoms faced an uphill battle. While
this was Game One for the Phantoms, this was Game 16 for the
.500 Blackbears. Although the pre-game locker room was full
of optimism, strategy, and questionable soundtrack music, the
first-game jitters were obvious during the opening minutes,
and remainder of, the first period. The Phantoms struggled to
keep the Blackbears out of their end of the ice, and could only
muster a few offensive rushes and one shot on goal. By the end
of the period it was 3-0, Blackbears.
As the Phantoms settled down in the second period, the game
began to even out. Greg “Look At Him Rock, Look At Him”
Rolnick provided the Phantoms first positive exciting moment
when he broke free of the defense and went one on one with the
Blackbears’ goalie. When his wrist shot was unfortunately
denied, the NHL Tonight crew provided their first use
of the five-second audio delay to mask Rolnick’s disappointment.
The delay would come in handy throughout the game, as Rolnick
broke free on several occasions, but couldn’t seem to
find the back of the net.
The Phantoms got on the board in the second Period when their
captain, Mike Boyd, slid the puck through traffic and past the
screened Blackbear’s netminder. On the opposite end of
the ice, AJ “A Little More ‘D,’ Boys”
Brandt stopped about 80 percent of the shots he faced, including
some nifty glove saves and a blocked breakaway attempt (or three).
Down 6-1 with a minute to play, the Phantoms managed to put
one more point on the board. With 7.7 seconds on the clock,
Phantom's right winger, Dave Deacon, got a hold of a loose puck
in the crease and shoved it home. The Phantoms, and their fans
in the stands, roared in approval at the moral victory.
With two weeks off, the Phantoms next game is on March 28 vs.
another Tier 6 team, the Fireblades.
GAME NOTES: In a move which unintentionally gave his teammates
ammunition for taunting, Rolnick’s wife had the referee
skate over to the Phantoms’ bench and snap a picture seconds
before the opening faceoff…although the Phantoms were
outscored 6-2, they increased their shot total each period,
while lowering their shots against…Rolnick was held scoreless
and was quoted post-game that he hadn’t felt like that
since “eighth grade, when Melissa Linde wouldn’t
go out with me…” |