Four Unanswered Goals Leads Phantoms to Title Game
May 3, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
CHESTERFIELD, Mo. - Derek Graham and Kurt Washnock had two goals apiece, while Alden Hirschfeld tallied a pair of helpers to lead the Mahoning Valley Phantoms to a 5-2 win over the Topeka Roadrunners in their National Semifinal game on Saturday afternoon at the Hardees IcePlex. The Phantoms will now face the St. Louis Bandits in the National Championship game.
"This is the type of effort we expected," said Phantoms head coach Bob Mainhardt after the win. "We believed in this team all year. When we put it on the line like we did this weekend, good thing happen, and I couldn't be more proud of this group right now."
After killing off an early Phantoms power play, it was the Roadrunners who struck first with their own man-advantage. Josh Kamrass found Matt Hartmann streaking in towards the back door. Hartmann one-timed home his second of the playoffs, over the glove of Phantoms goaltender Garrett Bartus, giving Topeka the 1-0 lead just 6:34 into the contest.
Quality goaltending at both ends held the game scoreless for the next 25 minutes of action before the Phantoms finally started hitting on all cylinders.
Hirschfeld led a rush down the right wing before feeding Graham alone at the bottom of the right circle. Graham then slid his fifth goal of the playoffs between the legs of Topeka goalie Bryce Merriam to tie things up at 1-1 midway through the middle frame.
Minutes later, Hirschfeld and Graham struck again - this time to put the Phantoms on top for good. After penetrating the zone, Hirschfeld found Graham in the left circle, who beat two Roadrunners and flipped a shot top-shelf over Merriam's right shoulder for his second netter of the day. Graham's team-leading 14th point of the post-season gave Mahoning Valley a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission.
Midway through the third period, Derek Carr won a battle behind the net, and found Washnock in front to fire home his first career playoff goal and push the Phantoms lead to 3-1. Washnock's goal would eventually be the game-winner.
"Kurt is a kid that we have tremendous expectations for," Mainhardt said. "He had a rough go of it early in the year with a couple of injuries. He has worked hard on the Midget (AAA) team, earned his way back into the lineup, and has had a couple of outstanding games - he came up huge for us today."
Minutes after Washnock's goal, Miles Winter notched his third of the playoffs, finishing off a 2-on-1 with linemate Chad Boeckman and extending the Mahoning Valley lead to three.
The Roadrunners looked to mount a comeback with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. With the goalie pulled and while on the power play, Josh Kamrass fired a laser from the slot off the left post behind Bartus, cutting the Topeka deficit to two.
Washnock added his second of the night - an empty netter from 180 feet away with just 45 seconds remaining - to stymie the comeback and seal the deal.
Bartus tuned aside 27 of the 29 Topeka shots he faced to earn his sixth win of the playoffs and backstop the Phantoms to their second consecutive championship game.
The Phantoms will now face-off against North Division rival St. Louis in the Robertson Cup Championship game on Sunday. The teams are 1-1-1 against each other in their last three games head-to-head. Last season, the Bandits beat the Phantoms 8-4 for the championship.
"We know we have some unfinished business with St. Louis," said Mainhardt in anticipation of Sunday's rematch. "We've been counting the days since last year, and both teams held up their end of the bargain, so it's going to be a heck of a final."
Game time on Sunday for the Robertson Cup Championship is 6 p.m. EDT at the Hardees' IcePlex. You can catch all the action 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 May 3, 2008
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Comes Back for 5-4 OT Win Over Phantoms - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Four Unanswered Goals Leads Phantoms to Title Game - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
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