Phantoms Gain Point, Retain First Place on Day Three
April 30, 2009 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
MASON CITY, IA (Thursday, April 30th, 2009) - The Mahoning Valley Phantoms guaranteed themselves sole possession of first place in the Robertson Cup Standings after a 5-4 overtime loss in Game Three against the Wenatchee Wild Thursday.
With the Phantoms leading 4-0 halfway through the second, the Wild started a rally that would see them to their second victory in three games.
Wenatchee got on the board with 8:24 left in the second period when Wild forward Mitch Torrel scooped a Junior Cadiz rebound past Phantoms netminder Jordan Tibbett to cut the Phantoms' lead to 4-1.
With time winding down in the middle frame DJ Vandercook, Wenatchee's leading scorer, taking a pass in transition from Nic Dowd and lifting a backhand over Tibbett make it 4-2 with 1:07 left in the second.
Vandercook struck again just 33 seconds into the third firing past Tibbett in traffic to chop the lead down to 4-3.
Four minutes later, on Wenatchee's second power play of the game, Brandon Burrell slapped the puck under a screened-out Tibbett to tie the game 4-4.
Phantom forward Nick Kenney appeared to restore the Phantoms lead with just over three minutes left on the power play, banging a rebound over Wild relief goalie Mathieu Dugas, but head official Dan Dreger ruled that the net had come dislodged before the puck crossed the line.
Regulation ended with the 4-4 tie and after a quick chance for Phantom forward Stefan Salituro in the overtime period, Vandercook completed the hat trick, taking a pass from Dowd and chopped a backhander past Tibbett just 56 seconds into the extra period to give the Wild the come-from-behind win.
Tibbett finished with 33 saves but dropped to 2-0-1 in Robertson Cup play.
Brandon Saad opened the scoring for the Phantoms, taking a Carl Nielsen pass into the Wenatchee zone and rocketing a wrist shot over the blocker of starting goalie Mac Carruth for a 1-0 lead for the Phantoms with 5:46 left in the first.
Alex Lippincott would follow just 1:09 later, redirecting a Josh Bussell centering feed past Carruth to make it 2-0 Mahoning Valley.
The Phantoms would extend their lead early in the second when George Saad poked a Cole Schneider rebound past Carruth, ending the starting netminder's day as Wenatchee head coach Paul Baxter lifted him in favor of Dugas.
Just over two minutes later Michael Pateras beat Dugas on the first shot he faced, ripping a transition wrister over Dugas' blocker for the 4-0.
Dugas stopped the next 18 shots he faced to pick up his first win at the Robertson Cup and give Wenatchee a 2-1-0 record (4 pts) in round robin play.
The Phantoms' 2-0-1 record gives them five points in the round-robin and first place after three days. Wenatchee sits in second place with St. Louis-who plays the late game Thursday against Bismarck-sitting in third at 1-0-0.
North Iowa (0-2-0, 0 pts) and Bismarck (0-1-0, 0 pts) are tied for fourth in the preliminary standings. North Iowa cannot catch the Phantoms in the standings.
The Phantoms close out round robin play on Friday with a 4:00 PM game against the two-time defending Robertson Cup champion St. Louis Bandits at North Iowa Ice Arena.
Mahoning Valley finished 2-2-0 in their regular season series with the Bandits; the home team won all four games.
The two teams with the top records after round robin play wraps up on Saturday will advance to Sunday's Robertson Cup finals, representing USA Hockey's Tier II Junior A National Championship.
Friday's game will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW-AM, and worldwide at MVPPhantoms.com. The pregame show will begin at 3:45 PM.
All Phantoms merchandise is on sale for 40% off at the Phantoms Team Shop at both the Chevrolet Centre and the Ice Zone while the Phantoms are in the playoffs. Call (330) 965-7500 for more information.
The Mahoning Valley Phantoms are owned by the B.J. Alan Company - Phantom Fireworks, located in Youngstown, Ohio.
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