Junior Barons Sweep Weekly Honors
February 16, 2005 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Cleveland Barons News Release
Facing a season-high 69 shots fired by the Youngstown Phantoms on Saturday night, Cleveland Barons goalie Bobby Jarosz (Crystal Lake, IL) turned aside an amazing 67 of them, in helping the Barons sweep the Phantoms and pull themselves back into the NAHL North Division playoff hunt. Combined with his 34 save performance the night before in a 6-1 win, Jarosz's play earned him honors as the Sher-wood NAHL Defensive Player of the Week for Week 19 of the season. As the Phantoms official website wrote of Saturday's game, the home team "threw the kitchen sink, the belt sander, and the hand mixer" at Jarosz. But the native of Crystal Lake, Illinois stopped all but two shots by Youngstown's Mike Maltese. One in the second period was a bank shot off Jarosz's leg from behind the goal line. And then, in a furious third period that saw the Phantoms take an astounding 31 shots on goal, Maltese's wrist shot from the left wing boards eluded Jarosz with less than five minutes remaining in the game. At that point, the Phantoms had outshot Cleveland 24-0 for the period. Jarosz held the Phantoms off the board the rest of the way and the Barons added a pair to ice the victory. The 69 shots ties the NAHL season-high with the Texarkana Bandits, who also fired 69 shots at Cleveland earlier this year in a 7-4 win over the Barons on October 22 at the NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota. Jarosz's 67 saves are also an NAHL season-high, eclipsing the 63-save performance by Justin Marriott of the Toledo Ice Diggers on December 22 against Youngstown. One night earlier, Jarosz had a relatively quiet night -- for him -- in which he stopped 34 of 35 Phantoms shots in a 6-1 victory, surrendering his only goal in the game's third minute and stoning Youngstown the rest of the way. In all, Jarosz turned aside 101 of 104 shots.
Also nominated: Jon Anderson, Billings; Brett Blatchford, Texas; Dan Dileo, Wichita Falls; Marty Gurnoe, Soo.
KIVISTO'S SIX POINTS EARNS SHER-WOOD NAHL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
If the Cleveland Barons are to make a late charge and secure the final playoff spot in the NAHL's North Division, this past weekend might be viewed as the moment the team took off. With a pair of wins, they have closed to within two points of fourth place, getting a big contribution from forward Kurt Kivisto ( Brighton, MI), the Sher-wood NAHL Offensive Player of the Week for Week 19 of the season. In the Barons' two-game series in Youngstown, Kivisto scored four goals and added two assists, all of which had a bearing on the game's outcome. On Friday night, with his team trailing by a goal, Kivisto rebounded a loose puck in traffic past Phantoms goalie Jerry Kuhn, tying the game at 1-1 midway through the first period. Then in the second, he set up Pat Schafer's eventual game winner, then scored another one of his own to make it 3-1, then set up a second Schafer tally in the period's last minute. The Barons' went on to a 6-1 victory. The following night, the native of Brighton, Michigan, scored the game's first goal in the first period and the Barons never trailed after that. Although the Phantoms came back to tie the game late the third, the Barons came right back and regained the lead, which Kivisto cemented with an empty net goal in the final minute for a 4-2 result.
Runner-up: Chad Costello, Wichita Falls - scored five goals in three games including both third period goals against Santa Fe on Saturday night in a 2-1 victory.
Also nominated: Brad Gorham, Billings; Aaron Lewicki, Texarkana; Justin Liut, Texas; Joe Beaudry, Soo.
North American Hockey League Stories from February 16, 2005
- Junior Barons Sweep Weekly Honors - Cleveland Barons
- Jets Could Clinch Playoff Berth This Weekend - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
- Wildcats Gain 5 Points Over the Weekend - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Dog Pound Weekly - Bozeman Icedogs
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.
