Phantoms Head West for Final Regular Season Road Trip
Published on March 19, 2009 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
CHESTERFIELD, MO (Thursday, March 19th, 2009) - The Mahoning Valley Phantoms hit the road for their final road trip of the 2008-2009 season Friday in St. Louis as they take on the arch-rival St. Louis Bandits for a two-game series at the Hardees IcePlex.
In two previous meetings, the Phantoms swept the Bandits with 4-3 and 3-1 wins at the Chevrolet Centre in November.
Erik Higby scored a shorthanded overtime winning goal in the first night's "W" while Jordan Tibbett made 20 saves in the Saturday game to power the Phantoms' to the sweep of the two-time defending Robertson Cup champions.
The scene for the upcoming series, however, shifts to the Hardees IcePlex, where the Bandits are 18-4-3 on the year. It is the only regular home arena that is an Olympic-sized rink; the surface is 200 feet long and 98 feet wide as opposed to the standard NHL size of 200 feet long by 85 feet wide.
Phantoms forward Jordy Trottier says that the extra room to operate on the IcePlex's Olympic sheet could play to the strengths of Mahoning Valley.
"We're a high-tempo, high-skill kind of team, so we're excited to have some more space out there this weekend," says the Phantoms' second-leading scorer (18-28-46). "Our line [of Trottier, Nick Shkreli and Nick Kenney], for one, should do well on the bigger surface.
"We move the puck very well; Nick Shkreli has great vision out there so if we can move it quickly in the offensive zone, we think we'll have some good results."
Each team enters the series in a tight battle for their respective divisions as the Phantoms lead the North Division by nine points over both Traverse City and Team USA-the Nationals have four games in hand over Mahoning Valley-while the Bandits trail the Topeka Roadrunners by just one point with four games remaining in the season.
Phantoms assistant captain Robert Harrison says with the North Stars and Nationals closing ground fast, Mahoning Valley's margin for error is minimal.
"With four games left in a race like this, you have to be perfect," says the third-year defenseman. "We need to win both games and get four points this weekend to give ourselves the best shot at winning the division."
The Phantoms are led in scoring by Brandon Saad's 29 goals and 18 assists while Tibbett has compiled a 23-7-2 and a 2.42 GAA and .915 SV%.
Andrew Hamburg is the Bandits' top scorer with 12 goals and 47 assists while goaltender Keith Kinkaid leads the league with a 28-5-4 record, a 1.82 GAA and a .933 SV%.
Trottier says the Bandits netminder presents a big challenge for the Phantoms.
"Kinkaid is a great goalie, we saw that earlier in the year when they came to the Chevrolet Centre," says Trottier, "he makes big saves in big spots for them. We feel confident, though, that all four of our lines will be able to create good chances and challenge him all weekend."
Friday's rematch of the 2007 and 2008 Robertson Cup Finals is set for an 8:15 PM start at the Hardees IcePlex.
The game will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 1240, WBBW-AM, and worldwide at MVPPhantoms.com via B2 Networks. The pregame show will begin at 8:00 PM.
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 19, 2009
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