Phantoms Coming Off November to Remember
December 2, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
BOARDMAN, OH (Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008) - The Mahoning Valley Phantoms will open the December portion of their NAHL schedule next Friday, hot on the heels of a big November.
In the third month of the season, the Phantoms went 8-2-1 and jumped from third place in the NAHL's North Division all the way to first.
Leading the way for Mahoning Valley has been the play of goaltender Jordan Tibbett. In November, Tibbett went 8-0-0 while collecting a 2.30 goals against average and a 90.3 save percentage in eight appearances.
Tibbett is quick to distribute the credit for his spotless record last month.
"Personally, I was pretty successful this past month," says Tibbett. "It's hard to complain when you go a whole month without a loss, but my teammates definitely helped me out and got us wins when I didn't play my best. I definitely can't take credit for all of those wins."
Phantoms Assistant Coach and Director of Player Personnel Curtis Carr is a bit less modest in his praise of Tibbett's November performance.
"Jordan played great," says Carr, "he put is in a position to win all eight of his starts, obviously, and we hope that he continues to play the way that he's playing."
Also having a big November were linemates Nick Shkreli and Kyle Verbeek. The veteran forwards combined to score five goals and register 12 assists in the month. Shkreli's nine points (2-7-9) lead the Phantoms in scoring during that time period while Verbeek's eight (3-5-8) put him in second on the team in November.
Shkreli says that his successful combination with Verbeek has a lot to do with line chemistry.
"We just find eachother on the ice very well," says the Romeo, MI, native. "We work together well, too, just getting the puck deep and working hard to get it on net."
Brandon Saad led the Phantoms in November goals with six.
Despite all of the success in November, Carr says the Phantoms still have a lot of room for improvement as they get ready to close out 2008.
"It was a great month statistically: winning a lot of games and getting back into first place, which is a good place to be," says Carr, "but we got away with a few wins we shouldn't have so we need to tighten a few things up. The biggest thing is that we have to continue to get better."
The Phantoms kick off their December schedule on Friday the 12th in Ann Arbor, MI, when they kick off a two-game series against the U.S. National Team at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. Both games will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW, and worldwide at MVPPhantoms.com via B2 Networks.
North American Hockey League Stories from December 2, 2008
- Phantoms Coming Off November to Remember - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Outlaws to Serve as Celebrity Waiters at BWW on Thursday - North Iowa Outlaws
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