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Machine Fizzle Phantoms' Fireworks, 3-2

November 10, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Motor City Metal Jackets News Release


Wyandotte, Mich. - The monkey is finally off their back.

Riding a 13-game losing streak into Saturday's game with Mahoning Valley, the Motor City Machine played one of their most complete games of the season Saturday, knocking off the Phantoms 3-2 in front of 567 rabid fans at Yack Arena.

"Anytime you go out there and you have a 13-game losing streak and beat one of the best teams in the league 3-2 at home (it's huge)," Machine head coach Matt Romaniski said. "Our goaltending played great and kept us in there. We had some nice goals tonight going to the net hard. We played 60 minutes for the most part and we didn't have many mistakes out there."

Goaltender Joe Rogers kept Motor City in the game, stopping 24 shots, including 11 in the third period as the Phantoms pressured to tie the game.

The Machine got off to a quick 2-0 lead within the first 13 minutes of the game as Jared Williams scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season unassisted then Nick Taurence scored his fourth of the season off a feed from Ben Danford.

The two-goal lead didn't last long, though, as Stefan Salituro scored for the Phantoms less than a minute later to cut the deficit in half, 2-1.

But the Machine would extend the lead to two halfway through the second period as Josh Bussell, acquired this week from Marquette for defenseman Reed Rushing, lit the lamp for the first time as a member of the Machine. Bennett Schneider and Nate Taurence picked up the assists on the goal.

"I got a pass from Schenider at center ice and came across," Bussell described. "There were two defensemen in front of me, so I came to the middle and took a nice snapshot and luckily it went in."

Romaniski, despite having to give up a veteran defenseman, is happy with the contribution Bussell is making early.

"We get some more scoring up front, some more leadership and he brings some more energy," Romaniski said. "We thought it was a great move."

Bussell, from Gibraltar, is happy to be apart of the Machine.

"I like the team a lot," he said. "We have good chemistry. I like the coaching staff, so I'm pretty excited."

Up two, the Machine went into the third period confident. Mahoning Valley would get an important goal halfway through the period when Salituro tallied his second of the game.

From there, it was a mad scramble as Motor City tried to hold onto the lead and hold off the Phantoms.

Mahoning Valley pulled goaltender Garrett Bartus with over a minute to play but were unable to get a puck past the wall that was Rogers, as the Machine prevailed 3-2.

The win was the Machine's first at home, coming against a tough opponent.

"As the youngest team in the division, to get a win against probably the most veteran team in the division is huge," Romaniski said. "The kids can build off this and hopefully we can keep it going in the right direction."

Bussell is happy to get his first win as a member of the Machine.

"We talked in the locker room before that we had to go out there and work hard for 60 minutes," Bussell said. "We got the job done tonight."

The Machine are off until next Sunday when they head to Ann Arbor to play Team USA.

The Motor City Machine is in their first season in Michigan as members of the North American Hockey League. The Motor City Machine are formerly the Southern MN Express in which they made the playoffs three straight years and twice into the Robertson Cup finals. The NAHL is the nation's largest Junior A hockey league and is now in its 33rd year of operation. For more information, visit machinehockey.com or call (734) 642-0544.

Machine home games will be played at the Yack Arena in Wyandotte, Mich. All games are broadcast on machinehockey.com and video broadcast through B/2 Network.

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