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Category: Opinion and Editorial
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The Phantoms Head Back Up to Wisconsin!
We're officially sick of talking about Madison (10-3-1-0) but we still have to play them on Friday. The good news for the Phantoms(6-7-0-2) is that we beat them once (and lost once) last weekend, and this week it's only one game against the Caps. We'll also take a little trip across Wisconsin on Saturday to face Green Bay (5-7-0-1) for the first time this season, so I think I'll just focus on the Gamblers this week. They are right behind us in the standings, so this week will be a big test of just where we stand in this campaign.

The Gamblers rarely dazzle opponents with their scoring prowess. Their top scoring forward and leading goal scorer is Jackson Hallum (6g, 6a) a 3rd round Las Vegas Golden Knights pick in 2021. A lot of his success is from his skating ability and raw speed. Defenses have to be aware when he is on the ice, he can be gone in a second. John Mittlestadt is second among forwards in points and team in goals, with 5g and 1a. John is the brother of former Gambler and current Buffalo Sabre, Casey, and Luke, a current Madison Capitols defenseman. John follows his brother in having a pretty complete skill set and great awareness. Rounding out notable scorers is Brody Lamb, a 4th round New York Rangers pick in 2021. Lamb has a rifle shot but, while he chooses to shoot more often than not, is a good passer as well with good vision. You have to know what his options are before committing.

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Category: Podcasts
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S4E8 - The Phantoms split their weekend series with Madison, and are traveling to Cheeseland for a Lipi-Tour! We’ll break this all down, and take a minute to chat with the Phantoms captain Jaden Grant!

 

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Category: Game Recap
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The referee signals no goal after a frantic scramble in front and behind Kyle Chauvette.No Goal! - The referee signals no goal after a frantic scramble in front and behind Kyle Chauvette.
The Phantoms started a 4 game point streak at the Covelli a couple weeks ago with a win over Cedar Rapids, a team that handed us a few losses earlier. We still had another outstanding debt to pay this season, a check payable to the Madison Capitols. That bill came due last night.

Jaden Grant got things going early. After an earlier powerplay was cut short due to the Phantoms taking their own penalty, the Phantoms second attempt at the man advantage was successful when Adam Ingram found Grant in the slot. Grant had just enough space between defenders to backhand the puck behind Caps netminder Marino Ramirez 4:52. The Phantoms added another powerplay goal late in the period, Grant assisting this time with a nice pass from the left halfboards to the slot where Morgan Winters deflected the pass in behind Ramirez for his first USHL goal at 17:32. Shots were 12-9 Phantoms who had a 2-0 lead.

Any thoughts that the Caps were going to just roll over and go down without a fight were extinguished quickly into the second frame. An early powerplay for them lead to Nick DeSantis snapping a shot through traffic, beating Kyle Chauvette who was well screened on the play at 0:48. A bit after the 5:00 mark, the Caps thought they had tied it. A loose puck near the crease lead to a mad scramble of players, Tyler Catalano laying on the goal line across the goal mouth, Chauvette somewhere in a pile of players, and the Caps trying to shove the whole mess into the goal cage. The puck somehow went across the line, the goal light went on, and the Caps celebrated but the ref immediately waived it off. The best guess is the puck had been deemed covered by a Phantom player and the ref was in the process of blowing the whistle.