After Weekend Split, Phantoms Retain Second Place Cushion
Published on March 10, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
BOARDMAN, Ohio - In their final road trip of the season, the Mahoning Valley Phantoms split a pair of games this weekend against the fifth place Marquette Rangers and kept a three point lead in the race for second place in the North.
Two of the Phantoms more unlikely scorers stepped up each night to help lead the way. On Friday night, it was a couple goals from forward Derek Carr that propelled the Phantoms to a 4-3 triumph. The goals were his third and fourth of the season.
"We usually rely on Derek to play pretty defensive for us. He centers our fourth line, kills penalties and takes important face-offs for us," said Phantoms assistant coach Curtis Carr after Friday's game. "To see him pot two goals was obviously a little bit of a surprise, but it is nice for Derek because he has been working hard lately and going to the net - that definitely paid off for him last night."
Carr's goals, combined with Brian McGinty's two assists and Stefan Salituro's helper, gave the Phantoms' fourth line a five-point night. Grant Blakey also cashed in with a goal and an assist, securing the team's third win in a row, and 30th of the season.
"I'll take it," said head coach Bob Mainhardt about the win. "We're still a bit banged up, we had a little dose of food poisoning there, but I was proud of the way the team stepped up. It wasn't our best game, and you're not going to have your best game every night, but the guys definitely gave it everything they had in order to come out on top."
Phantoms veteran goaltender Garrett Bartus turned aside 31 shots en route to his 20th win of the season - seventh among NAHL goalies.
Despite a pair of goals from forward Kyle Bailey on Saturday night and two helpers from Johnny Meo, the Phantoms could not overcome a series of unlucky bounces, losing 4-3.
Marquette (25-24-3, 53 points) forward Josh Bussell notched the game-winner with just 1:33 to play. The goal, Bussell's second of the night, was the third Rangers goal that deflected off Phantoms players on the way in.
"We really accomplished what we wanted to," said Mainhardt. "The guys came out and played a pretty good game. We had some unfortunate bounces, and you really can't fault the effort or the execution. We had some opportunities where pucks just rolled off our sticks, and Marquette played hard and was able to pull out the win."
Jordan Tibbett stopped 27 Rangers shots while dropping to 8-9-1 on the season. The Phantoms wrapped up the season series against Marquette with a 5-2-1 record, including a 2-1-1 record at Lakeview Arena.
North Division Playoff Picture
With just three weekends left in the regular season, the playoff picture only became cloudier in the NAHL North division - the fourth and sixth place teams are now separated by just one point. The top four teams in each division earn bids into the playoffs, with the top two seeds getting the home-ice advantage in a first round best-of-five series.
While the Phantoms were splitting the weekend, the Alpena Ice Diggers were busy doing the same, going 1-1 against the U.S. National Under-17 team. The Under-18's meanwhile lost a pair of games at home against the St. Louis Bandits.
With at least one win in three games this coming weekend at home against the Traverse City North Stars (21-19-11, 53 points), however, the Phantoms (30-17-4, 64 points) can clinch a spot in the NAHL playoffs.
Securing a spot in the playoffs will come as some relief, but with 16-6-1 record at home, the Phantoms coaching staff realizes how important earning the number two seed could be.
"Obviously everybody in our division has a better record at home than on the road, and it can be a big advantage if you can execute properly," says Mainhardt. "We would really like to stay at home and get those extra home games for our fans and hopefully limit our travel. But, either way, we are going to enter the playoffs prepared and ready to go."
The opening face-offs between the North Stars and the Phantoms are slated for Friday and Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. The Phantoms will be wearing special edition, green St. Patrick's Day jerseys on Saturday and Sunday which will be auctioned off to fans after the games.
Catch all Phantoms hockey action broadcast live on the web at www.mvpphantoms.com. The Mahoning Valley Phantoms are owned by the B.J. Alan Company - Phantom Fireworks, located in Youngstown, Ohio.
North American Hockey League Stories from March 10, 2008
- Grogan receives NAHL honor - Marquette Rangers
- NAHL Weekly - NAHL
- After Weekend Split, Phantoms Retain Second Place Cushion - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- NHL Legend Bobby Hull Coming To Springfield - Springfield Jr. Blues
- Pack The House - North Iowa Outlaws
- Volunteer Spotlight: Mark Agnew - "Voice" of the Jr. Blues - Springfield Jr. Blues
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
