The West Michigan Phantoms and the Puck-Ups met in what will go down as another great duel between two of Cedar Rock's oldest teams on Sunday, as two clubs enjoyed a Halloween Match-Up in the fields of Cedar Springs. Despite the Phantoms missing three members and skating with only eight guys for the first time in several months, the Phantom squad displayed a great effort and matched the skill of the 10-player Puck-Up Bench for the entire game. In a very tight defensive game, both goaltenders would keep their teams fighting and pushing for a victory during the contest. The Puck-Ups would break the scoreless duel 4:56 into the contest, as an initial shot from the slot would yield a rebound off the pad of the Phantom goaltender and a undefended Puck-Up forward would pick up the puck and launch the puck over the shoulder of Wootton in the Phantom goal for a 1-0 lead. That single strike would hold during the balance of the opening period and all of the second period, as the defensive showcase from both teams would prolong the 1-0 Puck-Up lead into the third period. The Phantoms would manage to light the lamp just inside the 10:00 mark of the third period, as Jason Schemmel would duek out David Sny in the Puck-Up goal and launch a puck high-stick for a game tying 1-1 score. Roughly five minutes later, while the Phantom's Chad Manning was in the penalty box serving a two minute minor for high-sticking, the Puck-Ups would capture a powerplay goal from the point just 33 seconds into the extra-man-band to give the Puck-Ups a 2-1 lead with just 5:35 remaining in the contest. As the Phantoms shifted to an offensive mode to attain the equalizer, the Phantoms would begin to display a complete domination in offensive territory. With Brain Doctor in the corner to the right of Puck-Up goaltender David Sny, the 8 year veteran defensemen from the Mean Streets of Muskegon, would riffle a shot on goal and according to the score sheet would be tipped by the Phantom's Keith Moorman past David Sny for a game tying 2-2 Phantom strike. Despite the Puck-Ups arguing that the goal was tipped in by a high-stick at the crease, the officials would ultimately use their initial ruling of a goal and count the goal in favor of the Phantoms (also assisted by Jason Schemmel). For Keith Moorman, this would mark his first-ever goal for the Phantom Sunday team at Cedar Rock, as Moorman is in the wings playing on the team's Wednesday team at Rivertown Sports waiting for a spot to open in coming seasons. Just 46 following the Phantom game-tying strike, the Yellow Shirts would be presented a glorious opportunity to climb into their first lead of the night. While on a break-away, the Phantom's Jason Schemmel would be tripped by the charging goaltender stick of David Sny. Unable to keep his balance, the Phantom forward would freight-train into the back boards behind the Puck-Up cage were the officials would sentence a two-minute minor penalty against David Sny and the Puck-Ups for tripping. Despite tremendous efforts by the Phantoms on their only powerplay, the powerplay unit would be unable to strike with a goal to show for it. As the horn sounded tied 2-2, the Phantoms would advance themselves to the shoot-out for the second time this season. The Phantom's John Dykehouse would strike with the only shoot goal of the contest for either team and the Phantoms would earn the extra point following a 3-2 Shoot-out Victory. The victory improves the Phantom record to 3-1 on the season. The Phantoms played without the services of Trent Kik, Gordie Anderson and Tim Vanoverloop during the contest. The Phantoms were ticketed with two minors for four minutes, while the Puck-Ups were sentenced with one minor for two minutes. The Phantoms will return to Cedar Rock on November 7th to battle Team Jager.
