Phantoms vs. Binghamton Senators 12-17-08; Second Period

We have some changes in scoring: the secondary assist is now credited to Ross. The second goal is now credited to Josh Gratton.

The Phantoms started the second period with 1:10 remaining in their penalty kill. Ross and Giroux came out with Guenin and Syvret. Their replacements were Curry and Jones (LOL, if you're an Alias Smith and Jones fan, having those names in the same sentence will be a source of amusement), and Raduns and Kalinski. Gratton came out as our third forward once Bartulis was sprung from the sin bin.

Once we returned to even strength, we started having a lot of end-to-end play. So far, four minutes into the period, each team has shot on goal once, so there hasn't been a lot of actual offense generated, but boy are these guys giving their legs and the ice a workout. Ratchuk's shot on goal came from the top of the slot, and was a blast through a lot of traffic; Elliott had to make a nice stop to keep it out.

Now Kid Curry -- oops, that's the Alias Smith and Jones character, I mean SEAN Curry ;) is in the box for the Phantoms. Ross, Giroux, Guenin, and Syvret are out for the first PK minute, as usual. There was a huge goalmouth scramble that was worth a good three Sens SOG, but Teslak was sharp and the puck stayed out.

With ten minutes remaining in the period, the SOG are Phantoms 8, Senators 14. The score remains 2-0, Phantoms. There's a scrum going on in the corner to Teslak's right. When the dust cleared, the Phantoms found themselves on the PECOOOOOO POWER PLAY. Matsumoto, Maroon, Laliberte, DeSantis, and Syvret took to the ice for the man advantage; however, eight seconds into the PP, the freaking Senators put in a SH goal. [Insert unprintable vocabulary here.] I can't help but notice that former Phantom Marc Cavosie got the secondary assist on Binghamton's goal.

Well, we certainly have lots of PP time to get that goal back, so let's do it. The same five guys who started out on the PP remained on the ice for approximately the first half of the advantage. Then Giroux, Ross, and Kane came out, along with Ratchuk and Curry. Ratchuk took another blast from the top of the slot, but this time there seemed to be a bit less traffic in front of Elliott, and he saw it all the way. We did, however, get an offensive zone draw as a result, as he had to freeze the puck.AT the end of the PP, Gratton, Kalinski, and Clackson came out. Jones was out with Bartulis as well. I'm glad there was experience combined with youth on that shift, as we got hemmed into our zone for a bit longer than I would have liked to see. But there was no harm done. There was not a lot else done, other than skating the length of the ice repeatedly for the next few minutes.

We managed to survive a LONG delayed penalty sequence before the whistle finally blew. With 1:33, Syvret went to the box, and the SOG were Phantoms 12, Senators 21. And I have discovered that there's only one thing more annoying than taking a late period penalty and having to start the next period shorthanded. That would be taking a late penalty and giving up a late PP goal. [Presume that more unprintabilites have been uttered.] The score is now 2-2 at the end of the second period, and the SOG are Phantoms 12, Senators 23.