FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2005 • HNA
TIER 5 FALL/WINTER LEAGUE
PHANTOMS vs. BLAST
Phantoms 5 -- Blast 2
WILMETTE, IL – Welcome back, sports fans, to another exciting
season of Chicago Phantoms hockey! The team is back at full
strength, with a roster of 17, and they’ve never been
hungrier to win an HNA championship. After all, nothing motivates
a team to win more than watching someone else do it on the same
sheet of ice, as the Phantoms learned last spring versus the
Fireblades.
Game one of the new season pitted the Phantoms versus the infamous
Blast. Last season, the Blast and Phantoms brought new meaning
to the word “combat” in their numerous contests,
where the penalty minutes often outnumbered the final score.
While the roster may be full, the team was without a number
of players for the opening game. However, by moving Dan “Happy
Gilmore” Phillips up from defense to right wing, the Phantoms
were able to field two full lines.
From the moment the puck was dropped to the final buzzer, the
Phantoms attacked the Blast and kept them under constant pressure.
The newest Phantom, Russell “Unquenchable” Thirsk,
officially made the roster when he took control of the puck
deep in the Phantoms’ zone, made his way up ice, weaving
through Blast players like pylons, and got the Blast goalie
moving side to side. With a quick flick of the wrist, Thirsk
went top shelf and put the Phantoms on the board first.
It wasn’t until the second period that the Phantoms struck
again. Forwards, V “Is For Victory” Tongwarin and
Greg “Call Me Ishmael” Rolnick moved the puck into
the Blast’s zone and fired a shot on net. While the goalie
made the initial save, he failed to contain the rebound. This
led to a furious scrum in front of the net. With the hockey
gods smiling down upon him, Rolnick saw the puck move out towards
his stick blade and he managed to corral the puck, and launch
it over the goalie’s shoulder.
With Phantoms center, Tedd “And He Felt Much Shame”
Vanadilok in the box for tripping, the Blast put themselves
on the board. After netminder, AJ “Big Papi On Ice”Brandt
deflected a shot, the rebound unfortunately bounced around and
ended up on the wrong stick blade, and then shortly after, in
the back of the net.
Not content to sit back and defend a lead, the Phantoms assailed
the Blast relentlessly in the third period.
Tongwarin slipped a puck past the Blast’s goalie just
inside the post on his glove side, then minutes later, made
a beautiful long distance pass from deep in the Phantoms’
zone to John “Billable Hours” Cullis near the red
line. As Cullis and Rolnick streaked in on a two on one, Cullis
turned the defenseman inside out before wristing the puck into
the back of the net.
Vanadilok made up for his previous penalty (and unintentionally
running the Blast’s goalie into the net) with a mind-bending
piece of puck trickery. Standing parallel to the goalpost, Vanadilok
managed to wedge the puck in between the goalie’s pad
and the post to put the Phantoms up 5-1.
A defensive miscommunication caused a Blast goal with three
minutes to go, as Brandt attempted to clear the puck from the
crease, but was intercepted. However, the game’s most
harrowing moment came with mere seconds left on the clock.
The Subway Sandwich of the game goes to Rolnick, who was absolutely
leveled from the front and behind by two Blast players while
trying to retain control of the puck at the Blast blue line.
Lying prone on the ice, post-bone-crushing, Rolnick quickly
popped his helmet off, shot a reassuring look to his concerned
spouse in the stands, and then mumbled something to the ref
about being “Batman.”
After Rolnick shuffled off of the ice, hulking defenseman, and
concerned Canuck, Thirsk avenged him on the ensuing faceoff.
Once the puck was dropped, Thirsk charged in and upended the
Blast player who had hit Rolnick from the front, just as the
final buzzer sounded.
Satisfied with their first win of the new season, the Phantoms
look forward to their rematch with the Fireblades next week.
GAME NOTES: The Phantoms out shot the Blast 34-24; Tongwarin
racked up four points on the evening; Captain Mike “Ruptured
Disk” Boyd played through severe back pain, finding solace
by crushing Blast players along the boards; the Phantoms defense
did an excellent job of shutting down a potent Blast offensive
attack (special mention to Ron “Fear The” Axe for
staying out of the box, while still sending a message of “stay
the %$#! out of my crease,” and Jay “Sin City”
Smith, for attempting to break an opponent’s stick with
a modified tomahawk chop, and thus spending two minutes in the
box—to be noted, Smith is working on taking over for Vanadilok
as the team goon, but still has a ways to go); Defenseman Scott
Battle will be signing copies of his new book, “The Silence
Is Deafening” next Tuesday night at 7:30pm at Borders
on State Street in downtown Chicago. |