Phantoms Ascend to First Place

Phantoms 4, Wolverines 2: Jason Neal scored three times and Jay Peters added a goal and an assist as the Phantoms climbed into first place. They needed a loss by the previously undefeated Patriots, which the Stingers happily delivered. (see below) Ryan "Screaming Like A Demon From Hell" Smith had an assist on Peters' goal. The Wolverines got unassisted goals from Robert Sirkis Sr. and Jason Delarosa. The Phantoms are now 6-0. With Fugaweez and Stickmen yet to play, they look like a shoo-in for the Stanley Keg final.

Stingers 2, Patriots 1 (shootout): Scott Childress' shootout goal lifted the Stingers and their giant goalie, Dana Fenili. Fenili stopped 18 of 19 shots. Rodney Murray scored in the second period for the Stingers on a Roland Widman assist. Butch Hutchison fed Jeff Vaughan on the Patriots' goal. The Pats fell from first but could still be headed for a Stanley Keg final with victories over the Spiders and REDRUM. Not that they're counting their chickens, but somebody already predicted victories in the comments section below. Shhhh. Don't tell the Spiders or Stickmen, who also are 5-1 heading into the final regular-season games.

Ice Holes 2, Lucky Puckers 0: Andrea Cortinas scored both goals in this one, and both came on assists by Mike Skupien. Jared Junker also got an assist on the second goal. The Ice Holes played typically stingy defense, allowing just 14 shots.

Stickmen 4, Komets 2: Ed Vogel had the hat trick for Stickmen. Tim James had a pair of assists. Jesse Henderson added a shorthanded goal in the third period. That turned out to be the game-winner as the Stickmen improved to 5-1. The Komets managed just six shots on goal.

REDRUM 4, Fugaweez 2: Daniel Barr had two goals to help snap REDRUM out of its funk. He also had an assist. Other goals were by Michael Wh*&% (That's right, we can't read it.) and Jason Howell. For Fugaweez, Big Dan Grimes notched a pair. Kyle Overton had two assists.

Spiders 7, Brewzers 2: Andrew Patti laid four goals and an assist on the slumping Brewzers. This one was quite the pasting, but maybe not as bad as the score indicates. The Spiders took only 16 shots. Unfortunately for Brewzer fans, seven went in. Yikes. Other goals were by Rahul Sharma, Alex Atkins and -- well, whaddya know -- scorekeeper David Lusty scored one.

Blue Devils 2, Snipers 1: Finally, a blue moon rose Saturday. The Devils took an uncharacteristic 35 shots in breaking a four-game losing skid. Dan Glein and Todd Smith scored, both assisted by Chris Perkins. Snipers goalie Patrick Donaghue was on-his-head fantastic. The Snipers' goal was by Jesse Henderson, who capitalized on a 5-on-3 advantage.

Note to Tom Buckner: If you have the photos we discussed, leave your email below and we'll tell you how to send them.

Note to everyone else: Remember, there are no games this week because of Labor Day and etc. Next games: Sept. 9.

BC