True Mettle

This one is going to be pretty short in comparison to the previous three…

With North Division play only two games old, the Phantoms character has already paid off. After falling 7-2 the night before, I can’t tell you how encouraging the rebound 1-0 revenge victory against the Under-18 National team was. The attitude and confidence on the bus afterwards was tangible.

Having said that, they still haven't put together a full 60 minutes. They mostly rode the goaltending of Bartus to that win. The first period was played pretty evenly, but the last 40 minutes was played mostly down in the Phantoms zone. Now, having said that too, 60 minutes from us, and we’d be unbeatable, every night, even against the Team USA’s of the world.

Bartus played very well, but with the exception of a few saves (most notably a diving save to his right late in the third), he really never put himself in a position to have to make spectacular saves… and that’s the mark of a consistent, confident goaltender.

The defense kept the majority of the 44 shots coming from the outside. He was constantly in position, he saw the puck well, he controlled his rebounds well, and made the saves look easy. If you heard the broadcast you probably could have felt the enthusiasm because he was just so solid. Being the only returning goaltender, it is probably up to him now to show the coaching staff what kind of day-in, day-out consistency he can have. I’m not sure if the starting job has been decided, but Bartus’ performance Saturday probably gives him an edge.

I haven’t had time to look at the history books, but does anyone know when the last time that the U-18 team got shut out in NAHL play was? In any play?

Alpena will be the first true road test. Ann Arbor had a lot of Phantoms fans there, and the American fans weren’t that boisterous. Alpena, from what I’m told should be a hostile, and fun environment to experience.

The Ice Diggers have become a bit of a rival after last season’s battle atop the standings. Three of their players already have eight points on the year, Russell Anderson, Erik Peterson, and Jon Puskar. Watch out for them…it looks like they all work together on the same power play unit.

Our power play is just as deadly though… the stats might not show it, but it really is where we live and die… and right now we’re 4-2, so I’d say we’re living. Our special teams, put together are moving at an above 100% clip which is what you want (17% on the PP and 88% killing), but I think we’re capable of 110%... Alpena’s power play is at 22%, but their PK is only 72%... Graham, Boeckman, Winter, Ringel, Dexter, Moser, and Co. should have some big numbers this weekend.

And one more note before we go… Having watched the practices for a few weeks now, I cannot imagine any team in the league being in better shape than we are. We may not be the biggest team in the league, but we have the talent, the speed, and the work ethic to win it all. Now they have to earn it, every day.