Phantoms Hold off USA; Salvage Weekend Split
Published on October 25, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Mahoning Valley Phantoms News Release
BOARDMAN, OH - Garrett Bartus made 29 saves as the Mahoning Valley Phantoms stymied a late Nationals rally to defeat Team USA 3-2 at the Ice Zone Saturday night.
Bartus said his defense made it easy to make the saves Saturday.
"I got a great look at almost every puck tonight," said the St. Charles, IL, native who improved to 3-1-1 with the win. "The âD' was doing the hard work in front of me, clearing out bodies so that I could see."
After opening a 3-0 lead after the first two periods, the Phantoms were able to keep Team USA from making another late charge. With the net empty in the third period, Shane Sooth scored for Team USA to cut the lead to 3-1 with 2:50 left in regulation.
With under ten seconds left, Bartus found a loose puck in front of the net and tried to net a goal of his own with Nationals goalie Will Yanakeff on the bench for the extra attacker. Bartus' shot, however, was blocked down by Austin Czarnik at the blue line, and Czarnik beat Bartus glove side as time expired to give USNTDP their second goal of the night.
Bartus said it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to try and score.
"I've never had a chance to score like that before," he said, "but I feel bad because I messed it up and cost us the goal."
Kyle Verbeek opened the scoring for the Phantoms with a hard slap shot over Yanakeff's blocker with 9:17 left in the first period. Nick Shkreli and Doug Clifford added late markers to build the big 3-0 lead.
The win helped the Phantoms (7-2-1, 15 pts) reclaim a share of second place in the North Division with Team USA (7-6-1, 15 pts). The Phantoms now turn their attention to their showdown with first place Traverse City (11-2-0, 22 pts) next weekend in northwest Michigan.
Phantoms Assistant Coach Curtis Carr said that the Phantoms aren't worried about the standings right now.
"We don't care who's in what place," said the third-year assistant, "our primary concern right now is continuing to improve while we win games, and we're glad we were able to do that tonight."
The three-game set with Traverse City begins on Friday night, with a 7:05 puck drop against the division-leading North Stars.
Season tickets and individual game tickets for the Phantoms' home schedule are now on sale at the Phantom Box Office, located at the Ice Zone in Boardman.
The Mahoning Valley Phantoms are owned by the B.J. Alan Company - Phantom Fireworks, located in Youngstown, Ohio.
North American Hockey League Stories from October 25, 2008
- U.S. Nat'l U17 Team Falls to Mahoning Valley, 3-2 - U.S. National Team
- Phantoms Hold off USA; Salvage Weekend Split - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
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