The West Michigan Phantoms earned a colossal two points in the standings on Sunday Night as the team defeated the second-place Deke Squad by the final of 5-4.  The victory evened the season series at 1-1 against these two franchises, which feature a large cast of players who use to play against each other in heated in-line hockey battles at Rivertown Sports and Cedar Rock Sports Plex.  On Sunday, the Phantoms were led by the teams famous Meat-Lovers-Line of Matt Zehr with three goals and Trent Kik with a pair of assists.   The victory improves the Phantom record to 7-3-2 on the season and keeps them in the pack at the top-end of the Walker Ice & Fitness Sunday standings.  Both the Phantoms and Deke Squad would play a defensive brand of hockey in the opening period, as neither team would allow their opponent to register a goal.  In the second period, both teams would begin to crank up their offensive style and crank up the physical and hostility play that these two teams are known for when battling each other.  While the Phantoms were enjoying a two minute power-play early in the second period, the Deke Squad would dampen the Phantoms life as Brett Wheatlake would capitalize on a short-handed breakaway opportunity of the game to lift the Deke Squad into a 1-0 lead.  Less than two minutes later, Deke Squads leading point producer entering the game Wayne Vredenburg would manage to use a screen from a Phantom defensemen to split a puck stick-side past the Phantom netminder and expand the Deke Squad lead to 2-0.  However, as quickly as the Squad earned a 2-0 lead, the Phantoms would answer back even quicker.  Casey Rosenberg would put the Phantoms on the board with just 3:19 remaining in the middle stanza, as the Norton Shores Fire Department member would launch a blue-line rocket low to the ice and through a maze of players past the Deke Squad goaltender to draw the Phantoms to within one.  Exactly 42 seconds later, the Phantoms Matt Zehr would record his third of the season (assisted by Casey Rosenberg) to deadlock the duel at 2-2.  In the final seconds of the second period, Deke Squads Clade Sailiers would lift his team into a 3-2 lead, as Sailiers would beat the Phantom goaltender Kevin Wootton with nine seconds remaining on the clock to take the lead.  The Deke Squad powerplay goal would occur while the Phantoms Trent Kik was in the box serving a tripping penalty, following a Kik-Induced-Derailment of a Deke Squad player on a near breakaway just inside the Phantom zone.  In the third period, the Phantoms would restore the tie just four minutes in as Matt Zehr would connect with a powerplay goal for his second of the night (assisted by Gordie Anderson and Trent Kik) to knot both teams at 3-3.  Less than a minute later, the Phantoms Chad Manning would register his first career Phantom Ice hockey goal to push the Phantoms into their first lead of the night at 4-3.  The Manning tally would be assisted by Nate Skoboda and Keith Moorman.  The Deke Squad would rally right back, as a Phantom defensive blunder would force the Phantom netminder to make a judgement call roughly ten feet outside the Phantom cage.  Despite a gallant attempt with the poke-check, Deke Squads Jordie VanderWal would Deke past the Phantom netminder and land the puck into the wide open net to again seize a deadlock between the Phantoms and Deke Squad at 4-4.  With the clock beginning to become a burden for both teams, the Phantoms dug in and tried to steal a win against the high-powered Deke Squad.  While exerting pressure inside the Squads end, the Phantoms Trent Kik would set up his Meat-Lovers-Line partner Matt Zehr on the side of the net.  Without a second to respond, Matt Zehr would rocket the puck past the Deke Squad goaltender and restore the Phantom lead to 5-4 will just 4:07 remaining in regulation.  With a very strong emphasis on defense, the Phantoms would kill off three minutes without much issue.  With nearly a minute remaining in the game, the Phantom goaltender would learn from his Claude Sailiers breakaway failure of the second period and come up with the biggest save of the game.  A neutral zone blunder by the Phantoms would again send Sailiers all alone on the breakaway towards the Phantom cage, only this time, the Phantoms netminder Kevin Wootton would at the last possible second sprout-rubber-limbs-on-demand with his catching glove and completely without question, commit highway larceny on the breakaway bid by Sailiers and stun both benches with a No-Further-Play glove save.  That save would give the Phantoms momentum to feed on for the remaining minute as the Yellow Shirts would hand the Deke Squad just their second defeat of the season.  As mentioned, the victory improved the Phantoms record to 7-3-2 on the season.  On the game, the Phantoms would receive three minors (all to Trent Kik either deserved or as a case of mistaken identity) for six minutes.  Deke Squad would finish the night with four minors for eight minutes.  The Phantoms played without the services of Jason Schemmel and Matt Mead.  The team will return to action next Sunday to battle West Michigan Precision Machining at 7:10pm.  The team would like to thank the Trent Kik family, Nate Tyler family, Nate Skoboda family and Tim Vanoverloop family for attending the game against the Deke Squad.  More support the better!