Phantoms vs. Norfolk Admirals 3-15-09: Second Period

The Phantoms are on the attack early, but Helenius had an answer for the puck that came his way. The good news is, when we had the faceoff to his right on the second shift, we got the puck back to Bartulis, who blasted the puck into the net from the point. Assist goes to Matsumoto. NICE shot -- what a freakin' BOMB. SOG Phantoms 11, Ads 9, and the score is now 1-1.

Hebert is the referee, but to my surprise, he is letting a LOT go. Which generally does work for me... I would rather see some borderline things get let slide and have some flow to the game than have stoppages of play every four seconds for penalties. (See: today's Flyers game at Madison Square Garden. Ugh.)

Speaking of UGH, the Admirals just retook the lead 2-1 as Pete Zingoni, the former Phantom, deked Munroe to his knees in the crease, then went around him to shoot into the open net.

OMG, the Phantoms tied it at 2-2 almost immediately. Ross it from such an angle, while charging at the net full tilt with an Admiral hot on his heels, that I thought the puck was on the OUTSIDE of the twine when it hit the net. But fortunately for us, it was IN the net. The goal was unassisted and I suspect that both goaltenders would like to have a do-over on those last two shots. I think they both would have liked to cover the post better on those plays. In any event, SOG: Phantoms 12, Norfolk 11.

Here goes a Phantoms penalty. Raduns goes for hookng. Ross and Kane are out with Guenin and Syvret. Nice, Guenin -- his defensive work in the corner is keepng an Admiral from getting the puck to anyone who's in a scoring position. Oh, now this is interesting -- the faceoff is in the Norfolk zone. Matsumoto, Laliberte, Bartulis, and Kukkonen are out. We are trying to make some noise shorthanded, but at least we shaved some time off the clock.

Oh, bless my soul, did I say that Hebert wasn't calling anything? Silly me. Matsumoto goes into the box MOMENTS after Raduns exits. Back to the freaking PK we go. Kane, Ross, Guenin, Syvret. Nice clear.

And AGAIN. With 58 seconds left on our PK, we are about to go down on a two-man disadvantage. Guenin is being sent off. LMHO, the announcer said "Phantom penalty"... Which sounds a litle bit like it was a phantom penalty, rather than a penalty on the Phantom*S*.

Too bad Kane's freaking stick broke. He would have been able to have a shorthanded breakaway. Instead, he made a beeline to the bench to exchange places with Kalinski, while the puck sped into the Ads zone and a Norfolk player rushed back to retrieve it. At least it killed some time and we got a fresh forward onto the ice.

Here is Matsumoto... The first part of our two-man disadvantage is killed off. Nodl, Kalinski, Curry, and Bartulis are out. And Kalinski gets a shorthanded rush, and tries for the wraparound. It doesn't work, but it allowws Nodl to pick up the puck and nearly manage a shot on goal of his own. Hooray, now we are at even strength again. Ross would have been able to et his second tally of the game if the pass that was sent toward him was within his reach.

With 9:08 left in the period, SOG are Phantoms 16, Admirals 13. We got a few of those during the recent PK, and for that, I'm pleased. Though it would be nice for us to score shorthanded... We haven't done that in a while. We got a ton of shorties earlier in the season.

Wth 7:21 left in the period, we are going on the PECOOOO POWER PLAY. Matsumoto, Laliberte, Maroon, Kukkonen, and Syvret are out. But the Ads clear it all the way to the far boards. Back to the Norfolk end we go. Ross, Kane, Nodl, Ratchuk, and Curry are out. In the battle of the 26es, the Admirals' #26 stole the puck from Curry and went on the rush. Curry took a hooking infraction with ten seconds left in our PP. So we'll have a brief 4 on 4, then start killing a penalty of our own. Raduns, Kalinsk, Guenin, and Syvret are out. AFter them, Matsumoto, Laliberte, and the same two D. (It surprises me when we don't change all the guys during the second period, because we hve the long skate to the bench in this period.)

Bah. Humbug. We are embarking on 1:11 of a two-man disadvantage, as Guenin is getting called for hooking. SOG are Phantoms 17, Ads 15. Kane, Kukkonen, and Syvret are out. I think Syvret has been out for this entire PK so far. NICE clear. Heh heh heh, and at the stoppage of play, we get the Chicken Dance with its enhanced lyrical content provided by the crowd. ("Hey, Ref! You S*ck!") Section 214 is back to its old tricks, too, hollering "YOU S*CK, REF" every time he skates past. They normally do that for the duration of the penalty that they disagree with, but this time they're really letting him have it. We have been at even strength for a while and they're still giving him grief. Nice keep-in, Guenin, speaking of the guy whose penalty triggered the fans' ire.

Kane just punched Henley in the chin after the whstle (when Helenius froze the puck). Henley, who is about nine freaking feet tall, just gave him the Glare of Death and the teams faced off to the goalie's right. (OK, he's 6'6", but he's still the Jolly Green freakin' Giant.)

The second period is over. We're at even strength, miraculously, and the score is 2-2. SOG: Phantoms 19, Admirals 18.