Phantoms fall to U.S.
Published on March 22, 2006 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
Ann Arbor, Michigan (Tuesday, March 21, 2006) - Joseph Lavin scored two power play goals as the U.S. National Under-17 Team scored three times with the man advantage to defeat the Mahoning Valley Phantoms 5-2 in North American Hockey League action at the Ice Cube.
With the win, the U.S., 37-14-5, claims the North Division regular season title, and will host Traverse City in the opening round of the NAHL playoffs. Meanwhile, the Phantoms fall to 34-18-4, and trail Cleveland by two points for second place in the division. The Phantoms and the Barons will meet in the other divisional semifinal, but it is yet to be determined who will have home-ice advantage.
The Phantoms dug themselves a hole early with penalties. Craig Dulman took down a U.S. forward in front of the net at 1:18 and the red, white, and blue took advantage on their first power play.
With traffic in front, Lavin floated a wrist shot from the high slot that deflected off a Phantom and dropped past Ryan Zapolski for a 1-0 U.S. lead. It was Lavin's fourth goal of the season at the 2:28 mark.
Later in the period, while the Phantoms were trying to kill a Tommy Upton slashing minor, they were unable to clear a loose puck in front of their net, as Dennis Urban cross-checked another forward to Zapolski's left for a five-on-three U.S. advantage for 58 seconds.
With the open ice, the U.S. passed the puck around the net as they closed in. Brennan Vargas fed James vanRiemsdyk for a one-timer in the slot, but it skipped off the heel of his stick. Fortunately, the puck slid onto the stick of Philip McRae, who quickly flicked a high shot past Zapolski, who had committed low to vanRiemsdyk's attempt. With 5:16 remaining in the period, the U.S. led 2-0 and still had 91 seconds left on a one-man advantage.
But Matt Quigley snuffed the U.S. momentum. He broke up a pass on the left point in the Phantoms zone and skated in on a breakaway from the right wing boards. He cut in towards the goal from right to left, changed to his backhand, and flipped the puck with the grain past Josh Unice for his eighth goal of the season and third shorthanded. The Phantoms now trailed 2-1 at the 15:51.
The Phantoms carried the momentum onto the opening faceoff of the second period. After a battle for the puck at center ice, Anthony Ciraulo fed Marc Menzione, who skated in alone down the slot. He went to his right onto the forehand, but lost some control of the puck. He tried to force the puck between Unice's legs, but was unsuccessful.
But they remained resilient and tied it up. Chris Fairbanks fed the puck from behind the goal to Bret Larson along the right wing boards. Larson paused before firing a wrist shot past a screened Unice for his fourth tally of the season. At 2:22 of period two, it was now 2-2.
Two minutes later, the Phantoms struck again. Mike Maltese blocked a U.S. clearing attempt on the left point. He skated around two players into the slot. As Unice moved laterally to stay square with Maltese, he collided with a teammate and fell; leaving Maltese with an open net. But a U.S. defenseman crashed into the net, dislodging it off its moorings just before Maltese's shot went in. Referee Ian Croft ruled no goal, despite the Phantoms' plea that the net was intentionally disconnected.
Shortly thereafter, the U.S. regained the lead. On a three-on-two, Richard Manley's shot deflected hard off Zapolski's blocker right back to Manley. Zapolski guessed low on the second shot, but Manley lifted it high in the left corner at 5:35 to make it 3-2 red, white, and blue.
The Phantoms were shorthanded four-on-three when the U.S. extended their lead. The home team slowly converged on the net, as Vargas' goal line pass set up Lavin's one-timer from the mid-slot, again finding the upper left corner of the goal for a 4-2 lead after two periods.
The Phantoms had two power play opportunities in the third period, but were unable to register any quality shots on those occasions. The U.S. put it away when van Riemsdyk softly redirected Manley's centering pass inside the near left post for his 16th goal of the season with 2:04 left.
The Phantoms outshot the U.S. 30-27, as Unice made 25 saves to improve to 10-7-2. The two teams will conclude the regular season together on Friday and Saturday with a pair of games at the Ice Zone. Both games begin at 7:00pm.
North American Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2006
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- Phantoms fall to U.S. - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
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