Home Ice Advantage Eludes First-Place Phantoms
March 15, 2009 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
YOUNGSTOWN, OH (Sunday, March 15th, 2009) - The Mahoning Valley Phantoms stormed out to an early lead over the Traverse City North Stars but could not hold on as Traverse City rallied for three straight goals to hand the Phantoms a 3-2 loss at the Chevrolet Centre on Sunday.
The loss denies the Phantoms a chance to clinch home-ice advantage in the first round of the North Division playoffs, as the magic number of points gained by Mahoning Valley and lost by Traverse City remains at four.
The Phantoms got a hot start when Cullen Lundholm blistered a power play slapshot past TC netminder C.J. Motte for a 1-0 Mahoning Valley lead with 1:11 left in the first period.
Brandon Saad would follow with 3:35 left in the second with a shorthanded tally for a 2-0 Phantoms advantage.
The North Stars, however, responded a minute and a half later when Tim Opie knocked a Marc Thompson centering pass into the Phantoms' net to cut the lead to 2-1 with 2:00 remaining in the middle frame.
Following a Mahoning Valley penalty, North Star captain Kyle Bonis poked a loose puck past Phantom goalie Jordan Tibbett to tie the game with 1:01 left in the second.
Bonis tallied his fifth of the weekend just 11 seconds into the third to complete the Traverse City comeback and give the North Stars a 3-2 lead.
Motte withstood a fierce onslaught by the Phantoms over the remainder of the third, shutting down all 19 shots Mahoning Valley sent his way in the final frame, including numerous point-blank chances in the final three minutes of regulation.
He improved to 18-9-2 on the season and 3-2-0 against the Phantoms.
Tibbett, who put on a show in net for the Phantoms with 29 saves including five acrobatic stops in the first period, slipped to 26-7-2 on the year.
Both sides finished 1-for-6 on the power play.
Sunday's game was the season series finale between the two sides, in which the Phantoms finished with a 6-4-3 record.
The win pushed Traverse City (30-17-6, 66 pts) into sole possession of second place, just seven points behind the first-place Phantoms (34-14-5, 73 pts). Both teams are being pushed by now-third-place Team USA (30-14-4, 64 pts); the Nationals have five games in hand over both the Phantoms and North Stars.
Mahoning Valley will wrap up their four-game homestand when they welcome the red-hot National Team to the Chevrolet Centre on Tuesday for a special 6:00 PM start.
Phantom Phan Purple Seats, normally $8.50, are on sale for $5.00 for Tuesday's game. The contest will be the Phantoms' annual St. Patrick's Day Game, which will include a live post-game auction of the team's special edition green, gold and white holiday uniforms.
Fans can bid right now on the jerseys at MVPPhantoms.com, all the way up until the start of the first intermission on Tuesday.
Tuesday's Phantoms-Team USA contest will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW-AM, and worldwide at MVPPhantoms.com via B2 Networks. The pregame show will begin at 5:45 PM.
Phantoms individual game tickets are on sale at the Phantom Box Office at the Ice Zone. Call (330) 965-7500 for more information.
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 15, 2009
- Home Ice Advantage Eludes First-Place Phantoms - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- North Stars claim win, series - Traverse City North Stars
- Junior Blues Split With Topeka; Race to Playoffs Is On! - Springfield Jr. Blues
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