The third time was the lucky charm for the West Michigan Phantoms on Sunday, March 22nd.  In the teams third season in the bronze league at the Cedar Rock Sports Plex, the Phantoms were able to edge the Donkey Punch by the final of 4-3 to capture the first-ever bronze championship in the teams 24 season history.  The bronze edition of the Phantoms Cedar Rock team began in the spring of 2008 and despite many of the players not knowing each other and having not played with each other before, this bronze team quickly grew together.  Just a mere twelve months and twenty days after the birth of the bronze team, the group was able to celebrate their first championship.  During this Winter 2008 season, the Phantoms began the regular season by defeating the Junkyard Dawgs 4-2 in the season opener.  While that game provided a quick spark and boosted the teams outlook for the season, that spark quickly faded as the team dropped the next two games of the season.  With the Turkeys blasting the Phantoms 10-1 the following week and the Hawks upsetting the Phantom crew 4-2 during the third week, it appeared that the Phantoms might have a difficult road in store for the balance of the seven game regular season. 


During late December the Phantoms enjoyed several weeks off to enjoy the holiday season with friends and family.  Once league play resumed on Sunday, December 11th, the Phantoms went on a tore during the start of 2009.  In a four-game set, the Phantoms went a perfect 4-0 in wins against the Hawks, Black & Gold and a pair of victories against the Puck-Ups.  During that rabid charge up the standings, the Yellow and Black outscored their opponents 20-11.  Despite the goal numbers, the Phantoms were on the bottom end of the standings when it came to offense.  With a 5-2 mark in the teams first seven games, the Phantoms relied heavily on the defensive stars of the team, as well as the teams netminder.  On February 8th, the Phantoms collided with the Donkey Punch for the first time during the season.  Several of the teams key players were scratched due to various reasons.  The Phantoms four-game winning streak was snapped, as the Donkey Punch toppled the Phantoms 5-2.  The following week, the Phantoms regrouped and took aim at the Junkyard Dawgs and pounded the puppies 6-2.  During the final week of regular season, the Phantoms again had a shot at the Donkey Punch.  With the entire Phantom crew present, this game would go the distance and proceed to the overtime shoot-out.  Despite scoring four goals against the Donkey Punch during regulation, the Phantoms shoot-out marksmen would not be able to penetrate the Donkey Punch goal in the shoot-out, and the Phantoms fell by the final of 5-4.  During the regular season, the Phantoms posted a 6-3-0-1 record, which tied them with the Donkey Punch for second place.  The Turkeys, who marooned the Phantoms 10-1 earlier in the season, finished first overall but were not allowed to participate in the bronze play-offs. 

The following week, the Phantoms began play-off play and defeated the Junkyard Dawgs 5-2.  The following week, the Phantoms were able to hold off the Hawks and capture a 4-2 victory to improve to 2-0 in the post-season.  The following week would be a huge test for the Phantoms, as the team would be forced to play a double-header with games against the Puck-Ups and Donkey Punch.  The Phantoms needed at least one victory in that double-header to keep their championship game hopes alive.  The Phantoms showed great desire and great team play against the Puck-Ups and took claim to a hard fought 3-2 win.  During the tail end of the double-header, the Phantoms hoped to end the streak of undesirable luck against the Donkey Punch.  With the Phantoms operating on all 12 cylinders (11 skaters and a goaltender), the team was able to achieve a 7-4 win against the red-shirted Donkey Punch.  With the Phantoms, posting a perfect 4-0 mark through the first four games of the post-season, the Phantoms earned a trip to the championship game the following week, only to see one more match-up against the Donkey Punch.  In that championship game, the Phantoms held-off the Donkeys and captured the championship by a final of 4-3. 

This Phantom team was again very strong down the stretch.  The team learned from their mistakes at the start of the season and created a very skillful product on the rink in the post-season.  For many on the team, this Winter 2008 championship was their first championship at Cedar Rock (Tim Czycyk, Jason Schemmel, Justin Calkins, Keith Moorman, Chad Manning, Chuck McCloud and Darren Skuse).  For others, it was their first Phantom championship (Justin Calkins, Keith Moorman, Chad Manning, Chuck McCloud and Darren Skuse, Tim Vanoverloop).  This team was also aided with the skills of three individuals who have been apart of plenty of past Phantom championships (Trent Kik, Brad Zehr and Kevin Wootton).

Every member of this Phantom squad not only played excellent during the season, but they had fun playing with the other members of the team.  That is how this and most championships are won.  Regardless of how many excellent players a team has, if they dont play team hockey and play with each other, their skills become ineffective.  Recreational hockey is played for two things, to have fun and get exercise.  Every player on the Phantoms Winter 2008 season accomplished those to objectives. 

During the entire 15-game season, the Phantoms finished with an 11-3-0-1 mark.  Again, Congratulations to the Phantoms on their first ever Bronze Championship and the Fifth Championship in the teams 24 seasons.