Chris Benedict may have waited until the tail end of the game to register his first two goals of the post-season, but along with the help of the rest of the Phantom squad, Benny was able to steal the show in the overtime period and advance the Phantoms to the championship game. The captain of the West Michigan Phantoms waited until the final minutes of the first overtime period to complete his two-goal proformance, allowing the Phantoms to advance to the Silver division finals for the third time in three seasons. The overtime strike propelled the Phantoms to a 7-6 win against the Dangleberries. The Phantoms and Dangleberries went the distance during the contest, which was a must-win for the Dangleberries. Jason Schemmel lifted the Phantoms into an early 1-0 lead, as the longtime Phantom connected on a Tim Czycyk assist just 5:05 into the game. That lead would be short-lived, as roughly four minutes later the Dangleberries would be able to even the duel at 1-1 off a pin-point shot from the right side of the Phantom goal. In the second period, the Dangleberries would be able to jump into a 3-1 lead against the yellow shirts, as the berrymen would feed off a shaky performance from the Phantom netminder. Just two minutes following the Dangleberry 3-1 lifting goal, the Phantoms would quickly charge back with two of their own. Brad Brooks would lead the charge, as the newly crowed Rivertown Fury champion would net his first of the game with just 3:20 remaining in the middle stanza (unassisted) to breath some hope into the Phantoms. Trent Kik would complete the comeback 1:24 later, as the Sparta 'Home-boy' would tally his first of the game (assisted by Gordie Anderson and Casey Rosenberg) to deadlock the contest at 3-3. In the third period, both the Phantoms and Dangleberries would go head-to-head throughout the 16 minute period. The Phantoms led by Norm Farr would begin the see-saw battle, as another member of the recently crowded Fury championship team would net his first of the game 2:02 into the third (assisted by Brad Brooks and Casey Rosenberg) to give the Phantoms a 4-3 lead. However as quickly as the lead was restored, it was taken away. The Dangleberries would respond 1:57 later to even the duel at 4-4. The Phantom's Chris Benedict would restore the Phantom lead 1:30 later (assisted by Scott Vandonkelaar), only to see the Dangleberries again tie it seconds later. With 6:18 remaining in the period, the Dangleberries would march into only their second lead of the night as they would again manage to capitalize on a rather questionable performance from the Phantom netminder. Norm Farr would get the Phantoms back on track, as the Davenport University student would feed off a Chris Benedict pass (also assisted by Casey Rosenberg) to tie the contest at 6-6. Despite a late period Dangleberry penalty, the Phantoms and Dangleberries would advance to overtime to decide a winner. A very strong Phantom powerplay would not be able to net the biscuit, even after two strikes of the goal post. With 2:00 remaining in the overtime period, the Phantom's Brad Brooks would be called on a rather questionable roughing infraction. With the Dangleberries enjoying the benefits of the extra-man-band, they would watch in disbelief as it would be the Phantoms that would steal the game. Chris Benedict would steal the puck off a Dangleberry neutral zone pass and turn on the East Kentwood skates and freight train towards the goal. Despite having the idea to skate in and duek, the Navyman saw an opening between the legs and unleashed a low rocket between the legs and into the goal. Just 31 seconds into the Phantom penalty and with 1:13 remaining in the first overtime, Benedict would net the game-winning strike to lift the Phantoms into a 7-6 win and secure a birth into the Silver championships. On the game, the Phantoms out shot the Dangleberries 36-29. The Phantoms were ticketed on two minors for six minutes, while the Dangleberries escaped with a single infraction for two minutes. The Phantoms will meet Howies in the championship game. This will mark the third time in three seasons that the Phantoms have earned a championship game appearance and the third time in that span that they will encounter Howies.
