By Mike Thornton
Philadelphia Phantoms Correspondent

PHILADELPHIA - Irish eyes were smiling on Marc Cavosie Friday night at the Wachovia Spectrum, as he pulled off a St. Patrick's Day hat trick to lift the Philadelphia Phantoms to a 3-2 overtime win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Cavosie polished off the night 2:03 into OT.

The Phantoms jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 2:03 into the first period. Stephen Wood launched a drive from the high slot, and Cavosie was in place to deflect the puck past Penguins netminder Dany Sabourin.

Cavosie's second came on the power play at 3:30 of the second period. He took a pass in the right circle from John Slaney, shifted the puck from his backhand to the forehand and potted his sixth of the season.

The Penguins broke through at 14:14 of the frame. Guillaume Lefebvre was in the slot when he one-timed a pass from the left wing hash marks past Martin Houle to cut Philadelphia's lead to 2-1.

The Pens seventh power play resulted in the only goal in the third, with Jonathan Filewich tying the affair at 4:01.

With the Penguins shorthanded in overtime, due to a high sticking infraction, the Phantoms earned the extra point. Rookie Stefan Ruzicka drove to the net from the left wing circle, and when he sensed the commitment from Sabourin, sent the puck to the back post for the Cavosie finish. The goal led to a spontaneous "Irish Jig" from Cavosie as his teammates looked on in amusement.

"I've always been a passer first," said Cavosie. "Scoring a few goals puts some confidence on your stick so it's easier to pull the trigger. Hopefully it keeps going this way"