The West Michigan Phantoms suffered their first defeat of the post-season on Sunday and their first defeat in three games as the Phantoms fell one-goal short to Howie's 12-11. In a game that featured 23 goals, it was the goaltenders who looked like jack-asses as of the 55 game shots, 23 found the back of the net. The Phantoms did manage to play a very hard-fought game against, however the six Phantom skaters could not muster enough force to send the game to overtime. Just like the previous game between these two teams, goal scoring has been plenty and both games have been very close. During the most recent contest, a Phantom franchise record would be broken as Chris Benedict tallied eight goals in the defeat. Benny's record-breaking effort would surpass the previous record of 7 goals in a single contest by a single player which was set nearly four years ago at Rivertown Sports. The Phantoms would close out the opening period a mere single goal back of the four-time defending Silver Champion Howie's at 5-4. Chris Benedict would tally a trio of goals in the opening 13 minutes to complete the hat-trick in near record-time. Nate Tyler would bring the Phantoms to with-in one after one with 1:54 remaining in the opening period. In the middle stanza, Howie's would out score the Men of Phantom Nation 5-4 to take a two goal cushion after the opening 32 minutes. For the Phantoms, Chris Benedict would continue on his record-breaking feat with the Phantom's first three goals in the period, while Matt Zehr would come through just three seconds before the horn would blast across the near-empty bleachers at Lazerskate. The two-goal deficit was easily in reach for the Phantoms, a team that has faced worse odds in the past. As the scoreboard changed to '3', the final 16 minutes was set. Howie's would strike 2:27 into the final period to climb into a 11-8 lead. None other than the Phantom's Chris Benedict would strike minutes later to pull the short-handed Phantoms to within two at 11-9. Howie's would answer right back roughly two minutes later to regain the three-goal-grip at 12-9. The Phantoms would not be phased has Casey Rosenberg would come through with 6:53 remaining to put the Phantom's into double-digit territory at 12-10. Exactly 2:01 later, Chris Benedict would pull the Yellow Shirts into within one at 12-11 with his record-breaking strike with 4:52 remaining in regulation. As the clock ticked closer to 0:00, the Phantoms would not be able to capitalize on a single glorious opportunity during the tail end of the game and suffered a 12-11 defeat. On the contest, the Phantoms were out-shot by Howie's 30-25. As mentioned, not even a respectable night for the goaltenders. On the Nauty's Penalty Minute Board, both teams were assessed two minors for 4 minutes. The Phantoms will be hoping to take one last shot at Howie's on June 22^nd during the Silver Championship game. However, before that headline can be posted on the marquee, the Phantoms must capture a victory against the Missiles on June 18^th. Game time for the Phantom vs. Missile clash is set for 5:00pm on June 15^th.