Ice Hockey: Phantoms Crush Panthers, Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

A hockey player is a special breed. There is a special bond and chemistry that hockey clubs have that just doesn’t exist in other team sports

That being said, they are committed to perform to the best of their abilities on every shift and take what happens on the rink to heart. Therefore, losses to an inferior opponent do not sit well with most hockey players.

The best place to remove the foul taste of an unexpected loss is the ice, and the best way to erase the memory of a gut-wrenching loss is to take it out on your next opponent.

Take that one step further: imagine being the son of a hockey coach who just watched his team play one of its worst games of the season, when they needed to beat a team that they had previously handed a 10-0 shellacking, to solidify their playoff position.

Phoenixville junior Chris Mullin is that son of a hockey coach, and on Friday night he did all he could to make certain there wasn't a repeat of the week he just endured.

“It was a rough week,” said Mullin. “We knew we played our worst game last week, and my dad took it pretty hard because he loves these guys so much. It was a rough week at home.”

Friday night, Mullin and the Phantoms used Strath Haven as their own personal mouthwash as they pounded the Panthers 8-4 in their Tri-County league regular season finale. The game wasn’t as close as the score indicates as Phoenixville had an 8-1 lead with two minutes to play.

Mullin was a force to be reckoned with as his cycling of the puck and work behind the net led directly to four Phantoms' goals as he racked up a goal and three assists on the night.

The line of Corey Smith, Mullin and Brett Sommerville accounted for four tallies, six assists and about fifteen hits.

“Wooooooh, this is awesome!” said senior captain Corey Smith. “If this is our last game, what a way to go out. Beating Strath Haven and finishing like we have been playing all season is great. This is the best bunch of guys I have ever played with and [I] love them all like brothers.”

Strath Haven may go on to the playoffs and may even make some noise in the post-season, but the Phantoms have the distinct pleasure of knowing they have handed the Panthers the only two regular season defeats thus far.

“We can’t stand that team,” added Smith. “They are a good team but we have shown that we can beat them. It’s funny because they have an attitude like they can't possibly lose. We took it to them again tonight and Kyle [Hutchinson] played great in net.”

Hutchinson was stellar in net when the Phantoms needed him to be, as he stopped 19 of the first 20 shots he faced, allowing Phoenixville’s snipers to swarm goaltender Andrew Sokol like killer bees, peppering the Haven net minder with 32 shots on goal.

Phoenixville (11-6-0, 22 points) regained the top spot in the B flight of the Tri-County league standings, tied with Lower Merion and two points ahead of Strath Haven, which has a match up with the Lower Merion Aces this week.

“We played well tonight,” said coach Denny Mullin. “We have done all we can. Now we need some help to make the playoffs. I have been so proud of these guys all year. They have really come together as a team.”

After battling through a 1-0 first period, the Phantoms busted the game open scoring five unanswered goals in the second to post a 6-1 lead heading into the final period.

On the scoring sheet, Brett Sommerville recorded two goals and two assists, while Matt Hackman scored twice and added two helpers and was actually stoned on a chance to get his hat trick as Henry Leech had pulled Sokol out of the net and found Hackman in the slot.

Corey Smith finished the regular season fifth in the league in scoring racking up 32 points on 21 goals and 11 assists.

Phantoms scoring

First period

10:50 Hackman from Deni

Second period

11:43 Smith from Sommerville and Mullin

 8:03 Sommerville from Mullin and Murphy

 4:38 Mullin unassisted

 2:24 Murphy from Hackman

 1:19 Hackman from Schwageri

Third period

10:45 Sommerville from Smith and Mullin

 9:30  Schwageri from Smith and Sommerville

Scoring

Strath Haven   0  1  3  - 4

Phoenixville    1  5  2  - 8

Shots on goal

Strath Haven     4   9    8  - 21

Phoenixville     8  12  12  - 32 

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