SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2006
HNA TIER 3 FALL/WINTER LEAGUE
PHANTASMOS vs. HORNETS
Phantasmos 2 – Hornets 2
ADDISON, IL – While the facility at Addison may be home
to the world’s worst locker rooms, the NHL-sized rink
saw one of the best games of the season the other night between
Los Phantasmos and the Hornets. The game was fast paced, full
of action, goalie heroics, and most importantly, never in
“the bag,” even though Los Phantasmos held a lead
going into the final minutes.
The game was played at an elevated speed from the opening
faceoff, and while the first period shots ended up being tied
at 10, Los Phantasmos struck first, finally breathing some
life into their dormant power play.
Using his MacGuyver-like on-ice creativity, winger Josh “DP”
Tallo eluded the Hornets penalty killers and moved the puck
over to defenseman, Jay “Agent” Smith, who was
pushing in from the point. Smith drew one of the Hornets defensemen
towards him, and away from the crease, freeing up winger Greg
“1.4 on the Richter Scale” Rolnick. Smith then
lifted a pass to Rolnick, who faked to his right, then moved
to the left post and flipped the puck over the goalie’s
shoulder for both the first goal of the game and his first
goal of the season.
With the referees doling out penalties to both squads with
regularity and aplomb, Los Phantasmos killed off a number
of Hornet man-advantages, including a five on three situation
in the middle of the period. Special mention should be given
not only to the stellar play of goalie, AJ “Spine of
a Slinky” Brandt, who made brilliant save after save,
but also to the defensive efforts of Smith, Scott “Born
To” Battle, Dan “Hit ‘Em With A 5-Iron”
Phillips, and Tedd “Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em”
Vanadilok.
Although the game was physical, it was never really out of
hand. Of course, tell that to call-up Sean “Bullseye”
Tang, who was leveled along the boards behind the net. While
he slowly rose back up, Vanadilok began skating in to exchange
words, and possibly blows, with the offending Hornet. The
now familiar, “TEDDY NOOOOOOO!” cry arose from
Los Phantasmos bench, and lucky for all involved, disaster
was averted.
The second period was devoid of scoring by either side, but
not for lack of trying. Los Phantasmos peppered the Hornets
goalie with 16 shots during the period, but he made save after
impressive save. The most jaw-dropping display of netminding
prowess came when he absolutely ROBBED Craig “Say It
Ain’t” Sonnenschein on the breakaway. Sonnenschein
made a stellar stick handling move, and seemingly had the
goalie beat, as he was sprawled out across the crease. However,
in a move that appeared to be straight out of a Matrix
movie (and will no doubt haunt Sonnenschein’s dreams
for weeks to come), the Hornets goalie raised his glove out
of nowhere and snagged the puck before it could cross the
goal mouth.
On the other end of the rink, Brandt stopped 9 Hornets attempts,
providing his own trademark flashes of “the leather.”
Los Phantasmos built upon their lead in the third period,
when Tallo and Rolnick were able to get the puck to scoring
machine, Ross “Ring A Ding Ding” Gerbasi, who
slipped it home.
Just when things were looking promising, however, the Hornets
decided to crawl back into the game.
Late in the third period, one of the Hornets wingers got free
in the slot, took a pass from his teammate, and walked in
unscathed on Brandt, beating him for the goal.
Utilizing a misguided strategy of trying to increase the lead,
as opposed to defending it, the “Guitar” line
of Gerbasi, Tallo and Rolnick got caught deep in the Hornets
zone trying to score and were not able to get back in time
to aid the defense after an unfortunate turnover. Once again,
one of the Hornets was able to get free in the slot and take
on Brandt one on one. Before you could say, “Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn,”
the score was tied.
What ensued was a flurry of scoring chances on both sides
of the ice, as the teams desperately tried to snag the win
and avoid the overtime period. That being said, the netminders
took matters into their own gloves, and refused to surrender
another goal.
Tang, and his linemates, Jeremy “I Love Me Some Post”
Campbell and Cully “Missed It By That Much” Johnston
furiously tried to score, but couldn’t catch a break.
Ditto for Sonnenschein, Keith “Ding Dong” Hales
and Bo “Forecheck, Forecheck, Forecheck” Coonce.
As the clock wound down, Rolnick managed to take a blistering
one-timer with less than a second on the clock, but watched
in horror as it bounced off of the goalie’s chest.
The Hornets out shot Los Phantasmos for the first time all
game in OT (4-3), but neither goalie was ready to surrender
the extra point. Consequently, Los Phantasmos were forced
to settle for a tie, even after holding the lead for the vast
majority of the evening.
Begrudging respect was given to the Hornets for refusing to
die and forcing the OT.
If Sunday’s match was any indication, the next matchup
between these two squads proves to be a real barnburner, and
members of Los Phantasmos are reportedly planning on doing
some Black Friday shopping in order to secure the best possible
deal on an industrial-sized can of Raid. The rematch is not
to be missed, so get your tickets now!
GAME NOTES: Los Phantasmos put up the most shots in one game
so far this year with 41 (including OT); Los Phantasmos went
1 for 7 on the PP and 4 for 4 on the PK; Phantasmos Phans:
The team is looking for a new equipment manager to replace
the recently (and unfortunately) deported, Enrique. If you’re
interested in the position, send your video application to
the team’s head of HR, Tedd Vanadilok at tedd@chicagophantoms.com.
While experience and enthusiasm are a plus, Vanadilok does
have a soft spot for bribes and creative, yet tasty, baked
goods. I’m just sayin’.