Phantoms Division Lead Stays at Nine
Published on March 14, 2009 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
YOUNGSTOWN, OH - The Mahoning Valley Phantoms fell behind early to the Traverse City North Stars on Saturday night and were unable to extend their nine-point North Division lead following a 4-1 loss to the North Stars at the Chevrolet Centre.
Kyle Bonis and Garrett Thompson each scored twice for the North Stars, who snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the first time on the road since February 28th.
Thompson opened the scoring when he fired a Marc Thompson feed past a sprawling Garrett Bartus just 4:46 into the game for a 1-0 Traverse City lead.
Bonis followed up the Thompson marker with his second score of the weekend when he wired a Nathan Urbaniak pass behind Bartus for a 2-0 advantage after one period of play.
TC extended their lead when Bonis redirected a pass from defenseman Tyler Stephens inside the near post and into the net nine minutes into the second for a 3-0 lead.
Alex Lippincott gave the Phantoms their lone goal of the night 34 seconds later when he got behind the North Stars defense and slid a puck through the legs of goalie C.J. Motte to cut the lead back to two.
That would be as close as Mahoning Valley would get, however, as Thompson added his second of the night on a broken play 54 seconds into the third period and Motte would stonewall the Phantoms the rest of the way, turning aside all 16 shots the home team sent his way to improve to 17-9-2 on the season.
Motte is 2-2-0 against the Phantoms in four starts.
Bartus finished with 27 saves as his record slipped to 11-7-3.
The win, combined with Marquette's 5-2 home loss to Alexandria, clinched the North Stars' (29-17-6, 64 pts) first ever playoff spot and pushed Traverse City into a two-way tie for second place in the division with idle Team USA (30-14-4, 64 pts).
The Nationals also locked up a postseason berth with the Marquette stumble, leaving only one remaining playoff spot for either the Rangers (23-23-8, 54 pts) or Alpena (26-21-5, 57 pts).
The IceDiggers knocked off Motor City 2-1 on Saturday night to inch closer to the final berth.
The Phantoms remain on the verge of clinching home ice advantage in the postseason's first round, needing only a regulation win on Sunday to secure three home games in the opening round of April's North Division playoffs.
The rubber match between Mahoning Valley and Traverse City will be Sunday at 3:00 PM at the Chevrolet Centre.
In honor of the Mahoning Valley St. Patrick's Day Parade, the Phantoms are offering $5.00 Phantom Phan Purple seats; fans can check out the parade on Maket Street and then head up to the Chevrolet Centre for the season series finale between the Phantoms and North Stars!
The game will also be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW-AM, and worldwide at MVPPhantoms.com via B2 Networks. The pregame show will begin at 2:45.
Phantoms individual game tickets are on sale at the Phantom Box Office at the Ice Zone. Call (330) 965-7500 for more information.
North American Hockey League Stories from March 14, 2009
- Phantoms Division Lead Stays at Nine - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- North Stars thunder back, 4-1 - Traverse City North Stars
- Rangers Top Blizzard - Marquette Rangers
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