PHANTOMS ATTACK..
Bracebridge Phantoms player Casey Prange chases one of the Bobcaygeon Bucks down the ice at the Bracebridge Memorial Arena on Saturday, Dec. 8. The Phantoms trounced the Bucks 8-1, retaining their third-place position in the league.
Photo by Bev McMullen
BRACEBRIDGE - It was a very busy week for the Bracebridge Phantoms who claimed the 2012-13 Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League’s (GMHL) annual College Showcase Classic tournament Dec. 6 before heading into a weekend with two road games and one on home ice.
The good fortune continued as the first-year team added three more regular season wins to their tally in three weekend games, breaking a standings tie with South Muskoka for third place and reeling in the Temiscaming Titans, which now have a five-point lead over the Phantoms for second seed.
Dec. 7 saw the Phantoms travel to Shelburne and while it was a lopsided 4-0 win, it could have been much worse for the home team that faced a whopping 76 shots from a hot-handed Phantoms offence.
On Dec. 8, the Phantoms played their lone home game of the weekend in an 8-1 romp over Bobcaygeon. The Phantoms used the strength of a three-goal first and four-goal third period to overwhelm the visitors, paced by forward Joey Verreijen who skated off with four goals.
The weekend wrapped up with a haul to Mattawa for a wild matinee game Dec. 9. The defences couldn’t match either offence, and a high-scoring affair ended with Bracebridge on top 12-7.
Mattawa opened the scoring early in the first, but Bracebridge responded with three in quick succession. In the second, the goalies got their workouts, with eight total goals scored, four to each side for a 6-5 Phantom advantage heading into the third and final frame. Bracebridge opened the period with three straight goals and went on to score two more late for the final score.
Bracebridge has a big weekend coming up as well, as they head off to face the second-placed Temiscaming Titans Dec. 14 with a chance to close the gap in the standings. They then host the Toronto Attack Dec. 15 at 8 p.m., who they beat out in the classic tournament to win the finals.