Citing only a combined five goals scored during the previous two games, the Phantoms were looking for an offensive spark during the third game of the season. That spark would ignite against the Falcons on Sunday, as the Yellow and Black would combine to register eight strikes in an 8-0 shut-out victory against the Falcons. The offensive surge was well welcomed by the Phantoms, as seven different marksmen would register tallies for the defending league champions. The Phantoms would open the scoring midway into the opening period, as Darren Skuse would unleash a Skuse Saucer into the Falcon cage (assisted by Chuck McCloud) to lift the Phantoms into a 1-0 lead. For Skuse, his opening strike would be his first point on the season, as he returned to the Phantom lineup having missed the first two games of the season due to a vacation in Italy . Moreover, that goal would be his first regular season goal in two seasons and would ultimately go down as the game winner. Minutes later, Chuck McCloud would net a goal of his own (assisted by Nate Tyler) as the Phantoms increased their lead to 2-0. Following the opening 16 minutes of the contest, the Phantoms held a 2-0 lead into the intermission and outshot the Falcons 11-8 during the opening stanza. In the second period, the Phantoms would begin to drive the nail into the wing of the Falcons, as three goals would expand the Phantom lead to 5-0. Jared Yax, who has been outstanding in the face-off ring for the Phantoms this season, would net his first of the game (assisted by Tim Vanoverloop) to begin the second period charge.
Minutes later, the newest Phantom would register his first goal of the season and the first of his Phantom career. Neal Downer would be setup by Darren Skuse and Tim Vanoverloop to increase the Phantom lead to 4-0. Late in the second period, Downer would go from goal scorer to assistman, as the former Rivertown Stick Head product would set up Patrick Ewerth to give the Phantoms a five-spot on the board. The Phantoms would enjoy the benefits of a commanding 5-0 lead after two periods and were outshooting the Turkeys by the healthy margin of 22-14 after 32 minutes of play. In the third period, the Phantoms would continue to display some of the greatest play of the season as three more goals would be netted by the yellow shirts. Tim Vanoverloop would net an unassisted tally to begin the third period slaughter of the Turkeys . Late in the period, Jared Yax would answer with his second of the night to increase the Phantom lead to 7-0. In the closing minutes, Mike Padget would put the icing on the cake, as the first-season Phantom forward would strike with his first of the night (assisted by Darren Skuse) to curtail the Phantom victory at 8-0. Phantom netminder Kevin Wootton would continue to display some of his best hockey of his career, as the Phantom crease detective would turn aside all 21 shots he faced on the contest. In just three games this season, the human puck blocker has a sparkling goals against average of a microscopic 1.66. On the night, the Phantoms outshot the Turkeys 36-21. There were no penalties called to either club during the contest. As mentioned, the Phantoms were aided by the arrival of Neal Downer into the lineup. Neal has been added to the team full time and brings to ten the number of fulltime skaters for the defending Bronze champions. The Phantoms played without the services of Matt Mead, who was in Detroit watching the Quack Attack defeat the Wings in triple overtime. Steve McIntire was also scratched for the Phantoms during the contest, as he was too in Detroit . Nate Tyler was called into action for the third time this season, as the longtime Phantom veteran continued his rich history with the team that began nearly seven years ago at the FunSpot in Muskegon . The victory improves the Phantom record to 2-1 on the season and increases the teams winning streak to two games. The Phantoms will return to action next Sunday to collide with another Cedar Rock foe.
