Phantoms vs. Springfield 11-28-08: Second Period

We killed that last fragment of Powe's penalty without incident. About a minute and a half later, Ryan Potulny took a penalty, putting the Phantoms on the PP. Matsumoto, Maroon, and Laliberte took the first PP shift with Syvret and DeSantis. Laliberte nearly scored, but Springfield's netminder Dubnyk made exactly the same kind of save that Munroe made in the first period -- while flat on his stomach, he raised his leg enough to keep out the point-blank shot. ARGH. So close.

We're at even strength now, and there hasn't been a lot of opportunity to score for either team. Six minutes into the period, the Phantoms have two shots and the Falcons have three shots since the intermission ended

Maroon and Ross team up on a 2-on-1, but the goalie stands his ground and keeps the puck out. However, we drew a penalty on that rush. We had a PP that lasted a grand total of 4 seconds before we were assessed a penaty of our own. Prior to this, the ref had been alternating penalties, but he gave Springfield two in a row. I guess he had to fix the error by putting Laliberte in the sin bin. ;) The forward pairing to egin the 4-on-4 is Ross/Giroux. Raduns/Powe were next.

Once the penalties to both teams were complete, we came THIS-CLOSE to putting a puck in. Matsumoto was right at the post to cash in a rebound, but a Springfield defenseman got to it first and cleared the puck vigorously out of harm's way. If looks could kill, the glare Matsumoto put on that D would have had him in the ER. ;)

Aah, heck. The Falcons halved the deficit to 2-1 within a couple minutes of their defenseman's preventing a goal.

Blast. We get penalized for delay of game. Maroon serves the penalty for Munroe. Then, 1:09 into the penalty, Springfield gets called for interference. So I guess we're alternating penalties again. ;)

Yikes. DeSantis and a Falcon kind of got tangled up and went sliding into the boards together. Fortunately, they both got up none the worse for wear. It's a little nerve-wracking when guys take an awkward spill like that, but there was no harm done.

MAROOOOON scores on the PP! Ross and Giroux got the assists. Ross fed Maroon, who was right in front of the net, and he managed to bury it before the goalie could get himself set. 3-1, Good Guys.

Soon afterward, while Laliberte was winning a foot race for the puck in the Falcons zone, Powe came barreling in for all he was worth and set himself up at the crease for rebounds. NICE. We didn't manage to get a shot off that time, but if we had, Powe was in great position to make it count.

With 2:20 left in the second period, the Phantoms are being outshot 27-15. If it weren't for the fact that we are winning, I'd be pretty steamed about how wide the margin is that we're being outshot by. If we keep this up, Munroe needs to get a star of the game.

I can't wait to see how many SOG Ross has tonght. It seems like every shift, he's been in the goalie's face and looking to get one past the netminder. He's had one of the As since he returned to the Phantoms. Powe has one also, and so does Syvret. (While Kane is injured, we're going with three assistant captains)

At the end of the second period, the SOG total is Phantoms 16, Falcons 28.