Riga Struggles, Prague Gets Their First Win

[Renomitsu 934]

Prague, Czech Republic - After just a few weeks in existence, from logo to staff to stadium to players, the Prague Phantoms earned their first win in their very first game. They faced long odds against the Riga Reign, who took the European Conference representative Helsinki Titans to seven games just last season and possessed the Offensive Defenseman of the Year. The presumption for nearly everyone with a mind for hockey was that it'd be a simple, clear-cut win for the Latvian team.

 

But this same unpredictability is what makes the game of hockey so beautiful. The Phantoms started lesser-known S65 and S66 names like Bert Meyers, Blake Laughton, and Don Draper against some of the league's best - including Arnor Sigurdsson, who made his debut on the first line - but every shot they took mattered, and three triggered the goal buzzer on Friday.

 

"They put up a hell of a fight and got the result they wanted out of it," said Apollo Hackett, one of Riga's third-year defenders, and one of their most recent recipients of an extension, "I can't think of a better result for a new franchise's first game, really. Hats off to them."

 

The Phantoms had six players with points in their game against Riga, and were the first of the two new expansion franchises to add to the win column.