A very different looking West Michigan Phantom team kicked off the franchise's 21st Consecutive Season on Sunday at Lazerskate Sports Plex in Cedar Springs. With a roster comprised of five players who were not on the Phantom squad last season and two of those players having never played for the Phantoms in the past, the Phantoms took to the rink in a game in which the team did not know what to expect. Yet, of the 12 points there were awarded to Phantom players during the contest, 6 of those points went to the 'Newbies' on opening night. Despite the excellent game played by the 'Newbies' (Matt Myers, Kraig Brown, Brandon Whalen and Ryan Hopkins), it was the veteran play of Casey Rosenberg with an assist to Gordie Anderson that put the Phantoms on the board first, a mere 20 seconds into the contest. Despite the lead, the Phantoms would watch as the newly-expanded Grand Valley Laker B-Team would tally the game's next two goals to seize a 2-1 lead. Yet, with a mere 1:29 remaining in the opening period, Craig Brown would score his first-ever Phantom and first-ever Silver-league goal to bring the Yellow Shirts back into a 2-2 tie to close out the first period of play. During the middle stanza, the Phantoms would receive their second lead of the night, as Matt Myers connected on a centering pass from older brother Brandon Whalen 2:19 into the period to put the Phantoms on-top 3-2. Yet, the Laker's would respond minutes later with a pair of goals 2:20 apart to put the College Boys on top 4-3. The sea-saw battle would continue as Trent Kik would raise his four-game-point-streak heading into night to five-games, as the 4-Season Phantom Veteran tied the game with 6:10 remaining in the second period at 4-4. During the third period, the Phantoms would heal their defensive woes in which allowed the Lakers to capitalize on two break-away goals during the first two periods and heal their desire to make roadtrips to the penalty box, as the Phantoms really stepped up their play in the final stanza. Brandon Whalen would score 3:50 into the third period and Matt Myers would deliver the GVSU B-Team a Phantom-Style Game-Ending goal with 3:34 remaining in the contest to seal the deal for the Phantoms. The 6-4 Phantom Victory was a complete team effort and a great way to kick-off season #21. The Phantoms outshot the Lakers 34-26 during the contest. The Phantoms were ticketed for 3 penalties for 6 minutes, while the Lakers were ticketed for 4 penalties for 8 minutes. The team will return to action next Sunday at 5:00pm against the Ghostbusters.