Phantoms can reach .500 mark at Toledo
October 8, 2004 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
Boardman, Ohio (Friday, October 8, 2004) -- The Youngstown Phantoms Junior-A hockey club will have the opportunity to even its record at 3-3-0 tomorrow night at Toledo. The 7:30 p.m. road game against the Ice Diggers will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams. The Phantoms registered a 5-2 victory at the Team Toledo Ice House back on September 22, but the Ice Diggers have reeled off four consecutive wins since then.
Last weekend, Youngstown split a pair of road games against the Soo Indians, turning in two performances that were drastically different. The Phantoms came out extremely flat in Friday's series opener and were blanked, 3-0. To their credit, however, they did bounce back and notch a convincing 4-1 triumph over the defending NAHL North Division champs on Saturday night.
"We played terrible in the Friday game, there's no doubt about it," Phantoms' Head Coach & General Manager Bob Mainhardt said. "For some reason there was zero emotion that first night, but we still had more than enough opportunities to score goals and win the game. In a way, it's good that we didn't win Friday night because that would have reinforced some bad habits. When we make a commitment to defense and doing the little things, I know we're going to get offensive opportunities. And that's what happened on Saturday night."
After the game against Toledo tomorrow night, Youngstown will be idle for 11 days before taking part in the NAHL Showcase Tournament in Minneapolis. There, the Phantoms will play five days in a row with the action getting underway on Thursday, October 21. The early-season schedule contains some sizeable gaps, which Coach Mainhardt believes has contributed to inconsistent play by his young squad. The Phantoms had an eight-day layoff between the September 22 game against Toledo and last weekend's series with the Soo.
"In the early going, it's been tough to get into a groove because we play a game and then we have a week off, and then we play another couple games and we have another week or more off," Mainhardt said. "But that's the kind of thing you have to overcome in order to win games and be right in there with the top teams. There's a lot of parity in the division this year, more so than last year. There's not going to be a team that just runs away with it like the Soo did last year."
• Discuss this story on the North American Hockey League message board...
North American Hockey League Stories from October 8, 2004
- The Biggest Rivalry Continues - Bozeman Icedogs
- Phantoms can reach .500 mark at Toledo - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- NAHL Showcase just around the corner - NAHL
- Cooper's 10 points earns NAHL Offensive Player of the Week - Texas Tornado
- Bandits snag crucial road point from Tornado - St. Louis Bandits
- Spirit defeat Marshals after losing in OT - Alaska Avalanche
- Wildcats visit Jr. Blues on SCI Night - Springfield Jr. Blues
- Shutout earns goalie Redmann NAHL Defensive Player of the Week - Soo Indians
- Coach Agrusa says Fairbanks trip was 'Some good, some work needed.' - Helena Bighorns
- Jets finally come home after downing Bobcats - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
- Marshals bringing it home - Central Texas Marshals
- Phantoms earn split of weekend series with Soo - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Toledo hosts beer night - Alpena IceDiggers
- Blizzard plows way to second straight win - Alexandria Blizzard
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.
