Arrrrgh... the Phantoms gave up a 4-1 lead in the third period, and wound up tying Norfolk 4-4.

Of course, when your most experienced D have both been playing North American hockey for all of two seasons (Wade Skolney and Dennis Seidenberg), there are going to be defensive miscues.

We also probably narrowed down a few things that we'd like to work on... the first goal-against was the result of an unfortunate rebound that went straight into the slot and directly to the trailing Admiral, whom nobody had picked up. The final goal-against was a freaky bouncing thing that went in a moment after a defensive-zone faceoff. I suspect Nitty would like to have those two back.

At least we SCORED four goals... ladies and gentlemen, we actually have an offense these days. Our two TWO top lines have been red hot, and that's nice to know.

The kicker of the night, though, was the fight near the end of the second. There was a colossal pileup at the half-boards, which began when an Admiral boarded a Phantom (I didn't see who got hit, but man, did I hear it). Every black-jerseyed Phantom on the ice made a beeline toward the offender, followed closely by the rest of the white-jerseyed Admirals. Someone lost their footing and at least three, maybe four players went over like dominoes. All I could see of them was a bunch of skates. Meanwhile, whichever players remained standing were all in the midst of a shoving match.

Then one pair separated from the rest, and they were full-out fighting. I could see the tall Admiral, but at the angle I was viewing the bout from, I couldn't see which Phantom it was. His Phantoms jersey was pulled out of position (but was kept from being removed by the fighter's strap) and the number couldn't be viewed at all. Then another fan behind me yelled, "Go, Ben!"

Ben? As in, Stafford? The smallest guy on the team (until Freddy Meyers comes back from injury)? Against that big freaking GIRAFFE of an Admiral? Well, not only was it Ben, but our li'l micro-forward held his own VERY well until he got the takedown. :o) There wasn't much time left in the period, so the ref sent both combatants to the dressing room. When he approached the bench, we fans near the tunnel cheered like crazy and Ben started grinning from ear to ear. The Phantoms near the bench door patted the heck out of him when he arrived... they were grinning, too. The one voice I could hear perfectly clearly, even over the fans' loud cheering, was Pete Vandermeer yelling, "GOOD JOB!" as Ben headed up the tunnel.

It WAS a good job, too... I'll be giving Ben a few fight photos for his upcoming birthday. I'll post them here, too, when I get a chance.