Phantoms vs. Hartford 12-05-08: Second Period

The second period started the way the first one ended: on Munroe's doorstep. A minute into the frame, Ross/Kane/Giroux made a concerted effort to get set up in front of Hartford's netminder, but it didn't last. We ended up facing off in our own end.

The good news, however, is that Giroux came streaking up ice with the puck, and took a hard shot that rang off the iron. The rebound went right to Jared Ross, who flipped the puck into the net for an easy goal. Beautiful! So the score is 1-0, Phantoms, thanks to Ross , with assists from Giroux and Syvret.

I can at least forgive our organization for not having Garrett on hand for the first puck drop. I got two text messages, almost simultaneously, from two different people saying that he didn't arrive until the first intermission. Here's hoping we see him on the ice tonight, or maybe even pregame tomorrow since there's a home game on Saturday as well.

Blah, the first penalty of the game, seven minutes and change into the second period, goes to Claude Giroux.

Syvret and Ross came in on a SH 2-on-2 that came close to resulting in a goal. Nice try, guys. I swear, the number 18 in this organization must be reserved for people who are as dangerous on the PK as at even strength. (Richards and Ross).

Unfortunately, Hartford scored on the latter part of their PP, causing the three fans next to me to start howling. I suppose they're WolfPack fans.

With 9:11 left the Phantoms strike again, hallelujah! Ross is EN FUEGO tonight. Assist: Matt Clackson (with his buddy Garrett in the building to see it, :) ). The score is 2-1. SOG: Phantoms 14, Hartford 19.

KANE makes it 3-1. This line is on fire, not just Ross! :) Giroux and Syvret assisted. Great job, guys!

We're about to go on our first PP. One thing about this ref: he's letting the teams play. Nice. Kane, Giroux, Ross are out with DeSantis and Syvret. Considering that ALL the guys who are responsible for our three goals are out on the ice, this is a good choice (even though they're our first PP unit anyway). We didn't score on that PP, but we are closing in on the shot clock (Phantoms 19, Hartford 21).

Oh, and there goes a penalty against the Phantoms. Curry will sit. With four seconds left on the man advantage, Hartford scores on a rebound to narrow their deficit to one goal. Drat. 3-2 Phantoms.

And with half a minute left in the period, the ref's arm is up and we're about to go shorthanded yet again. This time it's Ratchuk who goes. Kane and Kalinski are out with Syvret and Guenin.

At the end of the second period, SOG are Phantoms 19, Hartford 30. The score is 3-2 Phantoms, and we have 1:30 of PK remaining at the start of the third period.